Experiment 36
by Museless-wanderer
Summary: Jonathan Crane needs Edward Nigma's assistance with an experiement. Which would be fine if not for Edwards reaction to the test subject. Pairings currently undecided, possible slash.
1. Chapter 1

This is co-written by my good friend, the wonderful and ever talented Mystrothedefender who can be found here, on DA and on Tumblr by this name.

Edward Nigma a.k.a Riddler, Jonathan Crane a.k.a. Scarecrow and all other DC characters that may turn up belong to DC comics and not to us ... (unfortunately)

* * *

Edward rubbed his hands to fight the sudden onset of cold. He hated when Jon asked to meet him this late, at this height. Jon knew Eddie didn't like heights and always took advantage of that, usually, the higher they were, the more important the thing Jon wanted to talk about was.

He was up pretty high this time.

He turned his head at every noise, wondering when Jon would appear, hoping he would come soon.

Jonathan watched from the shadows for a moment assessing Edward. Eddie looked apprehensive and anxious. Jon smiled to himself, that was fine by him. There was a small joy to be had in keeping Eddie on edge.

With arms cross and his usual unemotional, cold expression he approached the younger man.

"Edward," he greeted him coldly.

Edward smiled widely, falsely, though he was actually a little relieved when the man finally showed his face.

"Jonny, great to see you…" he swallowed hard, wringing his hands still, "I got your message, what's wrong with the formula now?"

Jonathan raised a sceptical eyebrow at Edward's greeting. That smile may have been confident but Eddie's body language said otherwise. He looked down at him over his glasses.

"It doesn't work. Too much delay." He said sounding aggravated by the inconvenience.

Edward shrugged slightly, moving a little closer to the other man.

"Well… do you need more manpower? I can get some more nodes from Jervis." He scuffed his foot on the floor slightly, "If it's an intellectual problem I can always put my other projects on hold and offer my own services?"

"Always so willing to give yourself away, Edward? I suppose I could find some use for you. A fresh pair of eyes might reveal the problem," Jonathan mused.

Truthfully, Jonathan hadn't slept for about three days and had been living off of coffee and bread as he had time for little else, this particular problem vexing him so. But he was also aware that sleep deprivation caused mistakes so perhaps Edwards input would be desirable after all.

Edward smirked, his whole frame relaxing; he knew Jon wouldn't accept his help so easily if he wasn't _really_ stuck.

"I know how much you appreciate my input. What is it you're actually working on? Maybe now I'm working on it I can actually be told what it is…?"

"I believe it would be ill advised to discuss this in such a public place," Jonathan said still standing cross armed and sour looking.

As much as he hated to admit it, he did need Edward's help but that didn't mean he had to be nice about it. Not when Edward had that smug smirk on his face.

The smirk on Edward's face grew and he crossed his arms as he looked the man up and down.

"That means that I get to see your new hideout, doesn't it?"

Jon had acquired a new hideout around a month ago after Edward had made the previous one a death trap… which wasn't Edward's fault, of course, not his fault that Jon couldn't figure out the puzzle that unlocked the fridge; Jon had told him he was on a diet, Edward was only trying to help.

"I won't impose myself," he added at the memory.

Jonathan's eyes narrowed, memories of last time obviously stirring his anger.

"I swear Edward, if you do, then you will be my next test subject. Are we clear?" he said icily with supressed rage.

Edward held out his palms, still smirking.

"I won't, I swear." He walked slowly to Jon's side, letting his cane swing on his finger, "Will I be staying with you too or will I be commuting?"

He knew Jon would rather have him be live-in help in case he were followed, but, he thought it would be polite to ask.

"Staying. I don't want you getting distracted by something shiny," Jonathan sniped remembering the last time that they had worked together.

Edward had gone missing for three days, off on some wild puzzle solving spree causing the deadline to be missed and putting him at the end of Oswald's temper.

Edward nodded, "As I expected," his eyes darted for a second to the edge of the building, "So do you have a way to get to this hideout of yours or do you plan to fly me there?"

Jonathan gave him an exasperated glare.

"I have a car downstairs."

Edward gave a short nod, and headed towards the door to the stairs. Jonathan was slightly amused by just how quickly Edward headed to the stairs and away from the edge. He followed him as he led downstairs.

"Shall we pick up my stuff on the way there? I don't believe you know where I live."

"Give me directions," Jonathan grumbled leading him to the car.

Edward followed close behind the taller man, waiting for him to unlock the door-and maybe opened it for him if he were feeling extra nice.

"It's just off north road," he said happily, knowing that after this he would have to move or find Jon at his door every time he had a problem, "The third house, with a red door."

Jonathan unlocked the door but he certainly wasn't opening it for him. He got into the driver's side and waited for Edward to get in and buckle up. He drove them to Edward's place without a word. He stopped the car just outside the front door.

"Get your things. Be quick about it," Jonathan instructed.

He knew better than to wander about in Edwards's premises.

"Alright!" Edward squeaked in an intentionally camp and mocking voice as he hopped out the car, walking to his front door and carefully unlocking it, walking inside and leaving Jon in the car for a good 10 minutes.

Jonathan rolled his eyes as Edward left. After five minutes he checked his watch and sighed. After seven he started to tap his fingers on the steering wheel. And as his watch clicked to 10 minutes he looked to the door silently seething. Where on earth was he? If he made Jonathan come and find him there would be hell to pay.

When the 11th minute hit Jonathan saw Edward stumbling from the house, pulling behind him two suitcases of unidentified things. Stumbling under the weight of the bags. "Fuck!" he screeched as he lost his grip and the bag fell down the stairs. Edward moaned loudly and rushed to the last step, picking his bags up again. Jonathan's rage subsided as he watched Edward flail, an amused smirk spreading across his thin lips. He popped the trunk and just sat there, letting poor Eddie struggle. Edward frowned pointedly at Jon as he approached the car, straining his arms and dropping the bags on the floor by the trunk.

"Thank you so much for your help, sweetheart."

"Get over yourself _darling_," he bitched, "And hurry up."

Jonathan let him continue to struggle as he waited for Edward to join him in the car. Edward flopped into the seat and frowned as he closed the door, he hoped Jon would become a little more helpful in the days to come.

"I don't suppose I'll be paid for my services?"

"Surprisingly yes. This is a sponsored project," Jonathan replied.

He started up the car and drove to the edge of town where it was derelict and on the edge of the warehouse district.

"Oh?" Edward squeaked, smirking, rocking on his chair a little, "I'm being paid to eat your food and put up with your moaning, delightful."

As the car sped down the road Edward's head flicked from side to side, watching each turn they made and memorising the route they travelled. They pulled up at an abandoned looking old house. Jonathan knew he was going to regret this. He stopped the car and looked at Edward seriously.

"If, and I repeat If, we get this done then we get paid," he said then adding with a grin "Providing you survive that long."

"And what," Edward drawled, "on earth might kill me? Other than your incompetence, of course."

Jonathan just glared at Edward with silent rage before getting out of the car, slamming the door and leaving him to bring in his own luggage. He went and opened the front door. Edward dragged the bags, trying to move fast, before Jon got through the door and closed it as he suspected he would.

"This is a lovely house," he shouted forward to Jon, "Do I have my own room or will I be sharing with someone?"

Jonathan turned and looked at Edward. He crossed his arms across his chest and tapped his foot as he waited.

"I don't care where you sleep Nigma. Pick a room. The downstairs however has been renovated. Instead of a dining room there is now a fully functioning workspace, a lab," he explained.

As Eddie got close to the door Jonathan turned to go inside knowing that it should shut right in his face. Edward swallowed hard in surprise when it only shut halfway, he pulled his things in, and left them by the door, admiring the old style house.

"Wow," he gasped, smiling widely, "This place is a damn palace! What poor sap gave you this? They must have such a crush on you…"

Jonathan leaned against the hallway wall.

"They simply appreciate my talents," he smiled smugly "And Luthor can afford it."

"_Talents_," Edward said, raising an eyebrow, "…That's one word for it."

Jonathan scowled at him.

He smiled widely at the other man, "What's Luthor paying us to do? How many people are working on this?""

"He wants fear toxin that effects Krpytonians," he replied. "Though I am having trouble getting it to bind. Miss Isley was meant to be working on this as well as she has previously combined it with her pheromones, however she went on an eco-rampage and is now securely back in Arkham," he sighed, "So I guess I will just have to put up with you."

"I would have thought you'd prefer me to Ivy. I can't believe she was your first choice," Edward scoffed, looking in and out of the rooms, exploring the place he would call home for the foreseeable future. Eventually he popped his head into a room with a rather lovely looking four-poster bed, "Oooh, Jon, I'll have this room, it's lovely."

Jonathan scowled at him, typical Eddie.

"That room is taken if you hadn't noticed," he said pointing to his own suitcase, not that he had slept in there yet, mainly sleeping in the chair in the lounge or in the lab or not at all.

Edward scowled at the man.

"By _you_? You, doing an important project, which is located downstairs, in an unsecured house? You don't sleep." He could tell; the rest of the house looked lived in; dirty plates and scuffs of mud over the floor, but this bed hadn't been slept in, at all, not for over a week.

"I have been rather engrossed in my work however should I choose to get some sleep I would want to sleep there. As you say, _it is lovely._" Jonathan replied. "And the house isn't unsecured. It has a security system. The downstairs washing room is now a high tech security station."

Edward scoffed again, an action he was sure he'd repeat again.

"Please, I looked round the house, I could get in in 20 seconds if I wanted to." He sat himself in the bed, "And yes, this bed is lovely, it deserves to be slept in, every night, by me. If you ever decide you want to sleep you can curl up at my feet."

"Then_ you_ can sort out the security." He replied.

Jonathan sauntered over to stand in front of Edward as he sat on the bed.

"As if I would curl up at _your_ feet? You don't deserve this bed Edward, you haven't earned it," he said pointedly.

"Will sorting the security system _earn_ me it?" Edward asked, mocking Jon with a roll of his eyes as he flopped back onto _his_ bed. He glanced down towards his feet, wiggling his toes slightly.

"There… more than enough room for you…"

Jonathan's eyes narrowed.

"I think not," he said sternly.

He grabbed Edward's ankle and pulled him roughly off of the bed. He stood over him, smirking. Edward frowned harshly, getting to his feet with a judder.

"Fine," he snapped, "I'm not going to _fight _you over a bed, if you're going to act like a _child_ then you can have it."

Jonathan's smirk turned to a scowl at Edwards words. He grabbed his bags from the space by the door and pulled them out, slamming the door behind him and leaving Jon alone. Jonathan just watched him go and then smoothed out the bottom of the bed where Edward has laid. Edward moved to the room next door, it looked nice but not nearly as grand as the other. He threw his bags on the bed violently, and grabbed one of the ornaments from a nearby table, hurling it at the adjoining wall and watching it smash. Jonathan heard the impact from the other room.

"Oh, now who's being childish!" he shouted in retaliation.

Edward growled slightly, looking at the bag, he didn't want to unpack yet, he wanted to find out what Jon actually needed from him.

"Jon!" he yelled sharply, peeking his head out the door, "Why the hell am I here?"

Jonathan went into the hallway and looking rather unimpressed with Edward he spoke.

"I believe it was_ you_ who offered their services. But as I previously said, I can't get my toxin and Kryptonite to bind. The formula is downstairs on the whiteboard if you care to stop acting like a spoilt brat and actually take a look," he scowled.

Edward shook his head gently, he had forgotten how hard Jon was to live with, or be in the same room with or… anything.

"Fine," he growled lightly.

Edward walked from the room and towards the stairs, realising how petty he was acting over something as stupid as where he was sleeping, obviously there were more important things going on.

"Show me what you've done wrong."

Jonathan folded his arms and followed without a word. The walkthrough living room/dining room had been converted into a lab. The far end had all of the usual things you would expect and the near end that had been the lounge had a large whiteboard with Jonathan's nearly illegible scrawling all over it and some chairs. There was still a sofa and a television in the corner. There was also a door in the far corner that should lead to the basement.

"Here." He said gesturing to the board.

Edward's eyes darted over the green and blue scrawl, having to squint to make out Jon's writing in some places. He stood frozen for almost five minutes, his tongue peeking from between his lips, "…You say this _doesn't_ work?"

"Unfortunately not. Made it. Tested it.," he sighed "And that is in its simplest form. If it won't work as a liquid then all hopes of weaponizing it as a gas are pointless." He remarked, looking tired.

Edward chewed his lip and nodded.

"Uuh… ok. You go and make some food or whatever it is you do, and I… Uh, just let me look over this for a bit."

Edward could already see two things wrong with the formula; Jon had forgotten to account for how fragile Kryptonite became when it was heated. If he could find a way to keep it cool while undergoing the process… Edward was sure he could fix it if he had some time.

Jonathan huffed and turned away.

"I'm not your maid Nigma!" he hissed before picking up a book and going to the sofa. He wasn't about to cook for Edward, especially when he barely cooked for himself, or at least not till he was hungry. "Oh and don't go in the basement," he added as he sat down.

Edward frowned at the addition of the last statement. "Fine, I don't care what you do just shut up. A-And why would I _want_ to go into the basement, why would you tell me that, you know what I'm like, now I'm going to be distracted!"

"Because I don't trust you not to get distracted as soon I turn my back and explore every room in the house. Luthor provided us a test subject. So avoid the basement. Now get on with it," Jonathan scathed, picking his book back up and letting Edward get back on with it.

Edward span on the spot, staring in confusion at Jon.

"A _test subject_? …We're developing a formula to use on Kryptonians and he's given you a test subject? Does that mean there's a Kryptonian in this fucking house? I'm not sleeping in a house that has one of them in."

"You are and you will. Or you can just not sleep. She's a Cadmus clone. Never exposed to sunlight and rather well secured. So get on with it and stop being so melodramatic," he chided. "Unless of course, that is just an excuse and this project is beyond your abilities," he teased knowing the effect it would have.

Edward huffed and turned his head back to the board.

"If you didn't know _you'd_ done something wrong that _I_ can fix then you wouldn't have come near me. I can fix _your_ mistake, and I fucking will, but if that _thing_ shows even a hint of life, or if some dick of a vigilante comes to 'save' it I will leave and not come back," He stared at the board, looking over the equations, "…I hate Kryptonians… How long have you had it?" he asked, trying to gauge how likely it was that something would happen.

Jonathan put down his book for the third time, realising that he wouldn't get any reading done at this rate.

"Luthor provided her. The original has been released and has no-idea what her DNA was used for. They don't know she exists and thus there is no one to rescue her. Plus she is rather compliant. Like I said, a test subject," he explained.

Edward closed his eyes, swallowing a shudder, "The fact that there is one in my house is… very unnerving. What do you mean by compliant? Has she been woken?!"

Jonathan stood up and went back over to where Edward was and looked him in the eyes over his glasses.

"She is sleeping currently. She is just a clone, half Kryptonian. She has no free thought, no will to leave. She pretty much believes anything you tell her. She believes her purpose in the world is to be a test subject and that her efforts are helping to aid humanity. Yes she is chained and there is a certain level of krypotnite liberally spread throughout the room. Also there is a remote control that will deactivate her if the button is pushed. It is there, on the wall. Now has that put your mind at rest Edward?" he explained quickly and pointedly, being short with him.

Edward chewed his lip angrily, "I would rather she weren't in the house." His voice dropped in volume as he scoffed to himself "And why a female…? That would be even more humiliating." His eyes snapped back to Jon's "I don't like having only your word on my safety, Jon, I'd rather I could see her myself."

"You suddenly have a problem with women now Eddie? Weren't you the one with the two hench-wenches not that long ago? And yes, if you really want to see her then I will take you down there." He sighed, annoyed.

Edward frowned sharply, "They weren't _wenches_, I do not _sleep_ with my hench-girls… I have no problem with women, but I'd rather have people make fun of me for being beaten up by a super _man_. I get enough shit from them as it is." He swallowed his annoyance, returning to his original thought, "I would like to see her, Jon."

"No-one is going to know about her Edward. So your precious reputation will stay intact." He scathed before leading Edward to the basement door. He picked up the remote off the wall and pressed a code into the panel on the other side of the door. The very normal looking door clicked unlocked and Jonathan took the handle and opened it.


	2. Chapter 2

Jonathan wandered down the stairs that lead to the concrete basement with Edward following behind him. The basement itself was large and fairly barren except for a couple of bits of old furniture against one wall, an old style wrought iron bed and cut off by a medical style screen was a toilet and a sink. The two small windows had been covered but there were UV bulbs. They'd keep the half Kryptonian healthy but not powered. The clone herself had was thin and pale with short, almost white haired and she looked to be in her late 20's. She was curled up on the bed covered partially by a sheet. Her wrist and ankle on the right side were shackled and connected by long, strong looking chains to the wall. She was sleeping.

"See, harmless. Happy now?" Jonathan asked pointedly.

Edward stared at her, "She's just… _free,_ to move about when she wants, when she's awake?" he shook his head, "I've got to say Jon, this seems unwise. You're treating her like a _pet_."

"There are chains Edward in case you hadn't noticed. And she doesn't want to go anywhere. I didn't choose this set up. Luthor sorted it. She is totally loyal. Should I wake her up to prove this to you?" He challenged, frustrated with the younger man's paranoia.

"I don't want it awake!" Edward yelled, "I don't even want it here! How the hell would her being awake help me in any way?!"

Unfortunately the yelling stirred the woman. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at the pair of them.

"Doctor? Is it time for more tests?" she asked very slowly, not sounding quite with it.

"No child. Just checking on you," he replied before looking to Edward with a smug 'I told you so' smile.

Edward frowned and swallowed hard, seeming suddenly flustered and unsure of what to say, "…Does she have a name? Or do you just call her 'Child'?"

"I'm Kirsten 01. I'm helping," she smiled at Edward with total trust.

Whatever Luthor had done it was horrifically effective.

"See, she has a name. Do you feel better?" Jonathan asked, obviously never having bothered to ask her name before.

Edward shifted uncomfortably, the fact that she had a name made him even more uneasy. He'd never dealt with clones before he wasn't sure what to say to her.

"…I would have called you Lydia," he ended up saying.

"I could be Lydia. If you wanted. For you," she smiled up at him.

Jonathan face-palmed, shaking his head and pushing his glasses up. This was exactly why he didn't want Edward to meet her. He might do something stupid, like humanise her or even worse, care.

"She is just a guinea-pig," Jonathan whispered in Edward's ear.

Edward puffed out his chest a little, clearing his throat, "That's…great."

He still didn't know what to say of how to carry himself. What did you say to someone who knew nothing of… anything outside the room she was in?

"Now, Lydia, tell my friend here exactly why you are here?" Jonathan instructed her.

"To be tested on. To have my body used for science. To better mankind through my suffering," she said very mechanically repeating prior instructions, all the while with a smile on her face, the effect quite disturbing.

"Exactly. Thank you," Jonathan grinned, seemingly enjoying this. He turned back to Edward and got really close to his ear and spoke "Now, have you seen all you need to?"

Edward's face contorted slightly in disgust, "I was expecting something in a tank, not this." He looked between Jon and the clone-girl, "I didn't expect her to be cognisant."

This whole situation made his stomach turn, he wasn't exactly an ethical man himself, but the sheer lightness of her tone at the talk of such torture was unnerving.

"I think we should discuss this upstairs," Jonathan replied making for the stairs, knowing that Edward was probably going to get all objectionable at him.

Edward stood fast, frowning slightly, "I was ok knowing that this was going to be used on Superman, but this girl's… You're just…" he shook his head, "I'm not really ok with this."

"I know, which is why we should talk upstairs," he hissed, "You don't want to upset her do you?"

"I-" Edward's frown deepened and he stormed up the stairs, barging past Jon as he went, pushing the door open hard, making it slam against the wall.

Jonathan patted 'Lydia' on the head and told her to rest before following Edward and securing the door. He didn't dare get close to him, his mood obvious.

"See, nothing to be scared of. Just a girl, a test subject and a willing one at that. What more do you want?" He asked as if completely oblivious to Edward's objections. He was secretly finding all this rather amusing.

Edward tried to hold himself back, gritting his teeth, "You shouldn't have let me seen her, Jon. She's a fucking child!" he was yelling now, he was sure the girl could hear him through the door, "I was expecting a half-dead clone not a fucking girl. You are disgusting. How can you talk to her like that? How can you let her think this is normal?"

Jonathan's look soured.

"She is not a child Edward! She is a clone. A test subject. Nothing more!" he said with barely supressed rage. "Luthor programmed her this way. I didn't do this to her and frankly Edward you know I've done worse. And as for why I talk to her that way, I talk to her like that because it is unnecessary to make her brief life any more painful than it needs to be."

"Jonathan, you might as well have stolen a toddler to test on." He ran a hand through his hair, "She's cognisant. She doesn't need to-" his voice cut out suddenly as he let his eyes slip closed, calming himself, "Jon, she can feel the pain and she thinks that's normal? I… I don't like that, Jon."

"You can't test fear toxin on someone who fears nothing Edward," Jonathan explained calmly as he approached Edward. "Luthor assured me that she had things to be scared of too, so I am guessing she has previously been treated worse. The sooner we get this done, the sooner she can be put out of her misery."

"I don't like that someone, a sentient being, has been created in order to kill Superman." He smirked slightly, "Why didn't he just teach her to kill Superman? It would be… so much better than this. At least then she'd get to see the fucking sun before she was murdered."

"If it bothers you so much then you can look after her," he said sounding bored, "And ours is not to question. Just to do and get paid. How does $250,000 sound to you? Enough to negate your sudden bout of morality?"

Edward huffed gently, holding a hand to his head, "I don't _want_ to take care of her, I don't want her in this house. You couldn't have just let me think she were in a tube, could you?" He shook his head, "I really do hate you sometimes…"

Jonathan had had enough of this. He stalked up to Edward and put his face near to the shorter man's.

"_You_ wanted to see her. _You_ couldn't just be calm about it. It is _your_ fears that caused this. Now I suggest that you man up and get on with the job before I use you as a test subject. Am I clear!?" Jonathan growled at him.

Edward swallowed hard, knowing Jon well enough to know that he wasn't joking.

"Fine," he said calmly, "But I will not be the one giving her the stuff, ok? I'll leave you to your sick pleasure."

Jonathan took a step back and folded his arms.

"I wouldn't let _you_ anywhere near my toxin Edward, well, unless I was using it on you. Wonder what you are scared of? Failure? Not being smart enough? Your father?" Jonathan mused, going off on a tangent. He reorganised his thoughts realising he had gone off topic. "Now, are you going to get back to work or not?"

Edward could feel himself tensing as the man talked, biting hard on his lip, he hated so much when Jon did that, he hated that so easily he could pick up on what troubled him, use it to put him on edge, to make him more agreeable. He was sure he did it on purpose.

"…If you dare come near me with that shit I will slit your throat." He looked over at the board, now also wondering how he could improve the formula so it caused no physical pain; he didn't want to hurt an innocent girl… he could always change it back before it was given to Superman. "I'll need peace so I can concentrate, _if_ that's possible now…" he waved his hand dismissively, "Can you fuck off?"

Jonathan snickered as Edward threatened him, not taking it seriously. He enjoyed getting to him. Edward always had this air of superiority due to his intellect so it was nice to knock him down a peg or two. Without a word he walked past Edward, looking down at him coldly as he went and disappeared to the sofa, finally able to pick up his book.

Edward stared at the board, trying his hardest to concentrate, but finding his mind darting back to the girl in the basement, so unaware of what her life was, he didn't know what she was capable of, neither did she. That pissed him off.

Maybe she was smart?

Maybe she liked riddles?

He smiled slightly, shaking his head, he couldn't concentrate, not with that great unknown beneath his feet.

"…Can I talk to her?" he asked, letting his intrigue get the better of him.

Jonathan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. He put his book down again.

"As it is nearly dinner time, when I have made something you can take it to her. Will that stop your moaning?" he asked, annoyed.

"Yes," Edward growled, "It probably would."

Jonathan got up and went to the kitchen. About half an hour later he returned with a plate of pasta with chicken in sauce and held it out along with cutlery to Edward.

"Here, I'll let you into the basement. Yours is in the kitchen," Jonathan said as he went to the basement door and tapped in the code. "She's all yours."

Edward snatched the plate from Jon's hands, making his way down the stairs, feeling his stomach twist at the oddness of the situation.

"I've got your food," he said loudly as he walked down the stairs, unsure of what else to say.

Lydia looked up at Edward and smiled. Her smile was gentle and full of innocence. Lydia took the plate and after examining the fork somewhat, she eventually started to poke at the food with it.

"Thank you..." She started, her voice still slow. "I don't know your name?"

Edward's eyes scanned the dark room, looking for a chair, he couldn't imagine living his life in this space. "My… name is Edward Nigma." He pulled a chair to him and sat down, "If you don't mind I'd like to talk to you a little."

"Hello Edward Nigma. Yes, we can talk," she replied as she struggled with the pasta, slippery food and the newness of cutlery being a problem. Jonathan had previously just been feeding her on sandwiches and dry cereal.

Edward watched her fumble with the food, "How…" he suddenly found himself at a loss for questions, "How long have you… been alive?"

"Umm..." She looked like she was trying to think. "I woke up in a tank. Then Mr Boss took me to a room. Then there was..." she looked down, frowning, "them and they...did things...bad things, to me. I...didn't want them to. I know I'll suffer from testing, and that is good but I didn't like what they did. I dream about it. Wake up screaming. But then they brought me here and Mr Boss told me I could fulfil my destiny here if I did what the Doctor said. I like it here. No-one touches me."

Her whole speech was just heart breaking as her voice swayed from pain to happiness. Her innocence was just horrendous. Edward nodded gently as the girl talked, gritting his teeth at what she'd faced, all she had known was pain and this was as good as it would get for her?

"H-How long ago was that? Do you know?"

"No. I don't know. But this is the best food I've had. Did you make this?" she smiled. She looked up with hopeful eyes at Edward, still arguing with her pasta.

Edward gave her a small smile, "No... Jon made it, I've never been very good a cooking." He looked down at the food, "But, that's only pasta, it's not hard to make."

"Who is Jon?" She asked innocently, "I like you Edward. You're nice." She smiled as she reached out to him but couldn't touch him due to the length of the chain.

Edward's eyes darted away as a soft blush fell on his face, he looked towards the door.

"He's… The other man, his name is Jon. Did you not know his name?"

"I was just told to call him Doctor and to do anything he asked," she smiled, finishing her pasta though being a bit of a mess, "I don't see him very often. But sometimes I wake up and he is here, watching."

Edward frowned gently, Jon… Jon. He shook his head gently, "Well, his name is Jon, and… you have sauce on your chin."

"Oh," she said, trying to get it with her tongue which wasn't long enough, before using her hand and then licking that, "Thank you Edward Nigma. You are nice. What is your purpose in life?" she asked with wide blue eyes awaiting an answer, "I bet it's important."

Edward tried his hardest not to scoff at her question, "Purpose? …I create riddles, and leave them around the city, whomever is not smart enough to decipher them is killed. I don't know if that's my 'purpose', but that's what I do."

Lydia looked like she was thinking.

"You separate strong from weak. I was told to be strong. That is important Edward. You make the world a better place." She beamed.

Edward let a soft smile show on his face, "Yes, I suppose I do… Wouldn't you like to do something like that, Lydia?"

She looked at him confused. "But my destiny is to be a test subject, to help with creating a better world. I've never thought of doing anything else. No-one said I could do anything else."

Edward seemed to flinch at the sentence, letting out a tiny cough, "Oh… O-Of course you weren't… Um," he quickly got to his feet, seeming a little flustered, "Are you finished with that?" he asked, gesturing towards the girl's plate.

"Oh yes. Thank you so much Edward Nigma," she replied with a simple smile as she passed the plate back to him.

He nodded gently, taking the plate and turning towards the stairs, stopping at their foot and letting his head hang a little, "…Do you know what a riddle is, Lydia?"

"Well you said they were something that had to be deciphered and that you had to be smart to do so." She said, putting it together, "But no, I do not know exactly what a riddle is. Could you tell me Edward? I'd like to know." She looked at him eagerly, awaiting an answer.

Edward felt his fist clench slightly, and he turned back to her, "It's a question, but it's… Their answers aren't straight forward. Like…" He tried to think of an easy one, "Which letter of the alphabet has the most water?"

Lydia thought about it as she chewed on her lip. Eventually she said "I…I don't know. What do you call a large body of water? Is it to do with that? I've only seen water in a basin or a cup. And basin isn't a letter so it must be something larger that I don't know of." She reasoned, looking at him hopefully like she was worried about getting it wrong.

Edward swallowed hard, "Wow… Ok. The answer is 'C'. Do you not know _anything_?" He thought they usually loaded these clones with basic knowledge. They had just created her to be experimented on and killed? The thought made his stomach turn.

She shrunk back against the wall holding her knees. "I'm perfect for my destiny. I will never be more than I am," she said obviously repeating something she had been told. It was obvious that she had capacity by how she reasoned but she had been left blank inside.

Edward chewed his lip, "But…You're smart. Why would they let you have intelligence? That… That's not fair, that doesn't make sense." He could feel his heartbeat growing faster as he started to become anxious; they could have made her an idiot, they could have done anything, but she was smart, and she wanted to learn. Why would they do that? He didn't understand.

"I am?" She asked and was about to ask more when a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. "Hello Jon," she smiled.

"You told her my name!?" Jonathan hissed, looking at Edward like he was a complete idiot. Calming himself he glared at him. "Are you quite done Edward? We do have work to do." Jonathan snapped.

Edward glared at the other man then turned his eyes back to Lydia, "It's been lovely talking with you," he said politely through gritted teeth. He took her plate and climbed the stairs, shoving past Jon as he did, again angry at what was happening, how normal the others seemed to think it was.

"Goodbye Edward Nigma." Lydia replied.

Jonathan just sighed and followed Edward, making sure that the door locked.

"Feel any better having talked to her?" he sighed, knowing the answer.

"No!" Edward frowned pointedly, "It's made me feel _worse_! She is _smart_ Jon! Why is she smart?"

Jonathan shook his head and pinched the top of his nose, before looking to Edward with an exhausted look.

"Really? I never asked. And the reason I never asked is because she is a test subject, a guinea-pig and nothing more," he growled, "And she is probably at least vaguely intelligent so that she can comprehend what is happening to her. No comprehension and she would either be afraid of everything or nothing. Neither of these being useful states _**for a test subject**_!" he said pointedly raising his voice

Edward couldn't help feeling ill at what was happening, "I understand that…" he said, trying to keep calm, "But she _wants_ to learn. This is a very rare situation we've found ourselves in Jon. She is smart, she wants to be taught, and she thinks that what we do is _right_ Jon. She has so much more potential than just being a test subject."

Jonathan knew that he wouldn't get very far just fighting Edward. He could be particularly stubborn when he wanted and he knew that he'd get no work out of him this way. He walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye.

"Look Eddie, I understand that you see potential in her and you are welcome to look after and educate her as much as you like but I am still going to have to use her as a test subject. Just don't insight rebellion in her and we will be fine. The moment she gets a will to leave or disobey I will have to put her down. Alright?" he said carefully sounding almost reasonable.

Edward let out a small sigh, letting a smile fall over his face as he felt his spirit lift slightly; it might not be ideal, but it was better than what was happening presently.

"Ok," he said softly, "Ok, Jon, thank you."

"Now, your dinner is in the microwave as it was going cold. I suggest you eat and then actually get on with some work," he said, as he went to the kitchen himself to wash up.

Usually Jonathan didn't care so much for cleaning but until Edward gave him something new to try then there wasn't much he could do. Edward nodded and made his way into the kitchen, taking his plate of food from the microwave and taking a fork from the draw. He leant against the counter and took a bite of his food, he frowned gently.

"What do you usually feed that girl?" he asked as he chewed a piece of overcooked chicken. He could easily tell that the stove hadn't been used; compared to the rest of the kitchen it looked spotless, as did the oven, and this food was nice but not nearly as good as that girl had acted it to be.

"Sandwiches, cereal, whatever I can find in the cupboards. Why?" Jonathan asked as he rolled up his sleeves and ran the water.

Edward ignored the question and asked another one of his own, "Are you trying to impress me or something? Because you're doing a terrible job of it."

"Why would I try to impress _you_?" He asked not even looking up, "I have barely eaten all week or slept for that matter. Occasionally I do actually require a proper meal. The human brain does run on carbohydrates Edward. You should know that. And anyone can cook pasta."

"Not you, it seems," Edward grumbled, huffing a little, "Do you want to get some sleep or something while I work on the formula?"

Jonathan shot him an annoyed look. "Well if it is such a problem for you then you can cook," he said bitterly, "And yes, sleep might be a good idea."

Edward smirked; Jon knew he couldn't cook either, but he could do better than this.

"Go on then," he urged, "…You've got the good bed after all, might as well use it."

Jonathan finished the washing up, leaving the dishes on the side to drain and went upstairs to make use of that double bed that Edward had so wanted. He locked the door to his room from the inside to ensure that he would not be disturbed. In truth it was the reason he had chosen this room. Because of the lock on the inside. He tentatively stripped off, not quite happy to do so with Edward in the house and got into the bed. The bed itself was far more spacious than he was used to and he felt ever so slightly lost as he curled up in the middle of it. Sleep came to him surprisingly swiftly.


	3. Chapter 3

Edward finished his food and dropped his plate in the sink, then wandered slowly to the white boards in the living room. He stared at it blankly for several minutes before deciding that Jon's writing was too jumpy and hard to decipher. He needed to re-write them, he needed a notebook or something. He pawed through the cabinets until he came across an empty one, and a pen, a rather lovely fountain pen, it looked expensive, good. He copied Jon's notes, ordering them correctly and annotating them with corrections, he flopped on his seat and looked them over.

After a further 10 minutes of reading he looked up and around the room, suddenly aware of the deafening silence surrounding him, he was used to having the tv on or some music or something. But he didn't want to wake Jon up. The only thing worse than Jon when he was sleep deprived was Jon when he had been woken too early.

Maybe he could go downstairs? He could take a radio down there and talk to Lydia a little while he worked. As long as he wasn't too loud it should be ok. He took the kitchen's radio and pressed in the code for the door, he had to think about it for a second; Jon had either pressed '9169' or '9139' and he wasn't sure what would happen if he got it wrong. He decided with '9169', and the door clicked open, Edward descended the stairs with a deep smirk on his face.

Lydia looked up as soon as she heard the door open.

"Edward," she smiled, seemingly glad to see him.

She sat herself up, untangling her chains and made sure her dress was in order.

"Hello Lydia…" Edward said happily, finding a place to put the radio and turning it on at a low volume, classical music pouring from its speakers, "I'm going to work down here for a bit if that's ok."

"Yes. I'd enjoy that Edward," Lydia replied, crossing her legs and she sat on the bed. She looked him over, leaning forward. Once Edward turned the radio on she jumped. She looked at the box suspiciously. "What is that?" She asked curiously.

Edward smiled at her intrigue, "It's a radio, it plays music. It help me calm down and helps me work. It sounds pretty don't you think?"

She stopped and listened for a moment. "Yes, I like it. It makes me feel things," she said slowly hoping it was the right answer and looking to Edward for validation.

Edward smiled widely, "Yeah? What kind of things?" he asked gently; this was fun, like talking to a genius-child. He'd always liked doing that.

She chewed her lip as she moved with the music slightly assessing it. "Well those high bits make me feel light like I could float away but the deep bits, yes that bit, makes me feel like...like I am buried under the sheet of my bed, only safe and warm, like the tank I guess. And my body wants to move, the music gets inside me," she said all innocence and delight.

Edward nodded, still smiling, "Yes, that's good, that's what it's supposed to do." He walked away from her, to the chair he had been sitting in before, moving it slightly closer to the radio so he could hear better. He opened his notebook and began reading through, feeling happier just because of this, he felt like he could work now.

Lydia sat and wiggled her toes along to the music, assessing each new piece. She then started to watch Edward, trying to make out what he was doing. Eventually she plucked up the courage to ask.

"Edward? If you don't mind, what are you doing?" she asked sweetly.

He lifted his eyes from the page, then scanned the work for a second before replying, "I'm trying to figure out a way to fix Jon's formula, and make it not physically hurt you… which is something Jon has neglected till now by the looks of it."

"Oh," she said, trying to process this. "Thank you Edward. It would be nice not to be hurt," she smiled.

She tried to reach out and pat his leg but even her unchained hand couldn't reach so she maneuvered herself and just about managed to tap his leg with her free foot, a big grateful smiled on her face. Edward let out a tiny chuckle at the touch, smiling up at the girl.

"It's more usual to touch someone with your hands, not your feet."

"But...I can't reach you," she said as sadness tainted her clear blue eyes.

Edward's eyes moved to the chains on the opposite wall, "Oh," he got to his feet, placing the notebook on the chair behind him, "Well, I could lengthen the chains?" he mused, "As long as you can't reach the doors I don't think Jon will mind."

"I'd like that," she smiled. "Or you could come closer," she then thought for a moment. "What is beyond the door?"

Edward turned his eyes to the door, trying to think of something that wouldn't spark her curiosity, "Just… Mine and Jon's lab. It's dangerous out there though, that's why you can't go through there." He looked back at the girl, "You don't mind me moving closer do you?"

She suddenly looked all concerned "Dangerous? I don't want you in danger Edward Nigma. Not when you are so nice to me."

Edward chuckled again, slightly louder now, "It's not dangerous for me, only you." He picked up his chair and moved it closer, "There… Is that better?"

She got on her knees and shuffled forward on the mattress. She reached out and tentatively touched Edwards leg. She then shuffled a little more and rested her head on his knees.

"Much better."

Edward smiled, trying to find a sensible place to hold his notebook without disturbing the girl. "…Have you ever touched a human before?" he asked gently.

Lydia's brow furrowed.

"Not willingly," she said sounding sad again, "Not outside the bad room. I didn't want to."

Edward's smile flipped quickly into a frown, not liking her tone, "What did they do to you?"

Lydia moved to look up at him with her large blue eyes, which were moist with sadness. "I don't know. The bad room was scary. It was dark and there were things. Sharp things sometimes and sounds and I just curled up. When I stopped trying to get out these people came and they...they hurt me...they did things I can't explain, but they hurt. You...you won't hurt me will you Edward? Not like that?" she pleaded, her voice all broken, trying not to cry.

"No," Edward cooed, gesturing to his book, "I'm trying to make this not hurt you. It's ok Lydia, don't get upset, please," he spoke quickly, seeming slightly flustered by her sudden upset.

"Thank you Edward," she sighed, bedding back down on his knee, "I won't be upset if you don't want me to. I have to do what you and Jon say."

"…Well…" Edward swallowed gently, "If you feel that you should be upset, then be upset. But I would rather you weren't. Your _feelings_ aren't mine or Jon's to control… Just your actions."

"Oh...But Jon sometimes comes down and asks me to think about scary things, to scream," Lydia said looking conflicted.

"You mean when he tests you," Edward nodded, biting his lip, "I know, That's ok, that's why you're here. Hopefully, if I can finish this you won't have to do it for very much longer."

"Oh no. He has only tested on me once and it didn't work. I didn't feel anything. I mean, when he turns up and I am sleeping and he wakes me," Lydia replied innocently

"What?" Edward said in shock, his mouth falling slightly agape, "Fucking hell… Jon…" he let out a huffed chuckle, "Next time he does that, you tell me ok? I'll give him a slap… Depraved idiot." Edward found himself laughing gently as he thought over what Jon had said about her being 'only a test subject', lying bastard…

"Ok Edward," she replied sounding slightly confused, not really understanding. She waited a while, thinking and then said. "What about when I am having the nightmares and I wake up screaming and he is watching?" she asked, sounding unsure.

"Uh," he stuttered, clearing his throat, "I'd prefer he didn't do that either. It's rude…" He hummed gently, realising that what he was saying might 'insight rebellion'. "Tell me, ok, don't talk to him about it. Just tell me. Is there anything else he does that you don't like?"

"Oh I don't mind. He doesn't talk to me like you do. He only gives me instruction," she replied removing her head from his knee and leaning back on her hands. "But no, besides bringing food, he doesn't talk to me. He hit me once. When I first arrived. And then he just stared at me but he hasn't done it since."

Edward's brow furrowed, "That's odd… Maybe you didn't react how he thought you would. Or maybe you reacted exactly how he thought you would so there was no point doing it again?" he shook his head and sighed. "You like me talking to you then?" he asked to change the subject.

"Yes. You're nice. Plus, I like the colour of your suit. It matches your eyes. I like that," she smiled, perfectly happy.

"Oh thank you," Edward cooed, "You have an eye for fashion then, it seems." He huffed a little, "Hopefully once this is over you'll get to explore that a little more."

"I'd like something nice to wear. I've been wearing this since I got here," she frowned

Edward huffed, "That's not too good, it's unhygienic for one thing. …What sort of thing would you like?"

"I...I don't know. What is there? Unhygienic? What is that?" she asked, naïve.

Edward sighed a little, she really didn't know anything. "There are many different types of clothes, dresses, trousers, shirts, suits like mine, everything. And uh. Unhygienic is… When you're dirty, when you haven't washed yourself. The same applies to clothes and objects. It makes them uh… 'Icky'."

"Oh. Well I wash in the basin over there. But only with the sponge. I got hosed down once, before I came here," she replied looking down at herself and seeming kind of worried and curious at the same time.

Edward nodded, "That's ok, I suppose. As long as you wash properly, I don't want you to get ill and I'm sure Jon doesn't either."

"Ill? I don't know that word either. I'm sorry I am not smart Edward," she sighed, looking at him. "And I'll try to keep clean," she said looking down at her dress much like the biblical Eve, only just realising she was naked, and looked ashamed.

Edward smiled, lifting a hand to run it through her hair, "You're not unintelligent, just uneducated, which is something I plan to fix. He sighed gently, "Ill is… Like being upset, but it's your whole body. If you stay clean, it is less likely to happen, understand?"

"Yes Edward. You are so nice to me," she smiled curling up by his feet.

Edward smiled and hummed happily, rubbing her a little with his toe in affection as he scribbled on his notepad, "You've given me no reason not to, why would I not be nice?"

"Hmmmm..." she made a happy noise, "I don't know, but you are the first person to be nice to me. I thought the others had been nice. Mr Boss said he was nice to me but you are far nicer," she reasoned, happily.

"Well good," Edward replied softly, "With any luck I'll become your favourite human."

She smiled and stroked the top of one of his feet. She wanted to be quiet and let him continue with his work. After about half an hour she spoke up. "How is your work Edward?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

Edward nodding, turned the book to show her his work, "It's going well I think," he circled the area he'd just written with his finger, only around a quarter of the page. "The music is really helping."

"Do you mind if I sleep at your feet Edward? I'm tired," she asked, "I feel safe with you here, maybe I won't get nightmares?"

Edward smiled, "Go ahead, Lydia." He looked down at her and sighed, "I get nightmares too. I always feel better if I sleep near someone."

Lydia bedded down and closed her eyes and it wasn't long before she was sleeping. Lucky for her and Edward, Jonathan was also still sleeping. Edward continued on with his notes, looking away every time Lydia twitched at his feet. She looked so sweet and innocent. He hoped that his presence was comforting her, he knew how bad it was to be plagued by bad dreams, he liked the idea of being the person to stop them. Lydia slept perfectly well at Edward's feet for the next couple of hours.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised?" Jonathan said flatly from the stairway, having crept down there when he noticed that the door was open and Edward was gone.

Edward's gaze didn't move from his paper, "Shush Jon, she's asleep and I am working. I needed to come down here so I could listen to the radio."

"And that's the only reason?" he replied pointedly though in hushed tones before sighing, "Well at least you are working I suppose. I'll be upstairs. I need more caffeine before I can deal with you."

He looked at the pair for a moment, shaking his head slightly, knowing it would end badly he turned to go back upstairs.

Edward smirked, he could use a drink to now he thought of it. Edward looked down to see Lydia tangled around his foot, he huffed a little, trying to move his limb without waking her. Lydia made an adorable noise and turned over away from his feet as he tried to move. She curled up tightly but remained asleep.

Meanwhile, Jonathan was upstairs making himself a pot of coffee.

Edward sighed and moved from the bed, looking back at the girl and smiling as he walked up the stairs, closing the door behind him. "I trust you had a nice sleep?" he asked Jon as he walked into the kitchen, and poured himself a drink.

"Yes actually. That bed is particularly comfortable," he replied, only saying it to spite Edward. He poured himself a cup of coffee, added 4 sugars and tasted it. "So ...mind telling me what you were doing in the basement?" He enquired.

"Not the same sort of thing that you do in there," Edward half-snapped. "…We talked a little and I did work while she slept, that was it."

Jonathan blushed slightly and then looked annoyed, hiding behind his coffee.

"Don't get too attached to her Edward," he warned, "Though at least you worked. Have any breakthroughs yet, genius?" he asked sarcastically.

"I can get as attached as I like," Edward growled. "And yes, I did, actually, I've made quite a lot of progress considering I've only worked a few hours."

Jonathan glared at him.

"Good! The quicker you get it sorted the quicker we can get to the testing stage," he smiled maliciously.

Edward nodded, "The sooner this is over and done with the sooner she won't have to deal with you watching her sleep…"

Jonathan nearly spat his coffee as he face went red.

"Her screaming was keeping me awake," he protested.

Edward nodded slowly, "Oh, yeah, of course. You couldn't have just worn ear-plugs. No, watch her sleep that'll make her stop."

"I wasn't watching her sleep!" he snapped. "If you really must know, I was talking her sleeping self through the nightmares." By which he meant, taking great amusement in making them worse, but he wasn't about to tell Edward that.

"Yeah sure," Edward growled, he walked to Jon's side, trying to make himself look a little taller, "I don't want you to do that anymore though Jon, I'll deal with her but I don't want you creeping her out. I want her to like me."

"I will do whatever I want to her Edward," he said firmly, looking down at The Riddler over his glasses, "Though I find it adorable that you want her to like you. Found yourself a little girlfriend have we Edward?" He teased.

"It's not like that," Edward snapped, "You said I could look after her and that's what I want to do. I don't want her to be scared of me, I want her to feel comfortable around me."

"I don't see how I treat her has anything to do with how comfortable she is with _you_. And she is _my _test subject, Edward, I am only letting you look after her to quell your incessant whining. Your work is on the formula. Remember that!" Jonathan snapped back.

"I know that, Jon," Edward said pointedly, "You are testing _my_ formula on her… She is alive, she has consciousness, she doesn't need your harassment." He frowned suddenly, "What if something you do to her affects her psyche, i…if her reaction changes because of a negative experience you have caused then how will I know it's not my formula that's done it?"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment.

"That is the most sensible thing you have said since you got here. Fine. I shan't interfere with her any further. Now can I drink my coffee in peace?" he asked still sounding annoyed but that was normal for him

Edward tried not to let his smug-proudness show on his face as he gave Jon a gentle nod, "I need to make another copy of my notes. I don't suppose you have any other notebooks do you?"

Edward had become more paranoid about creating multiple copies of notes since his house burned down a year or so ago and he'd lost two months' worth of rather important information. Jonathan walked away and went to riffle through one of the draws. He pulled out a new note-pad and handed it to Edward.

"Here. I knew we would need plenty once you got here. If you fill that one, there are more in this draw."

"Thank you," Edward smiled as he took the notebook, glancing over to the sofa, noticing how small it was, he sat himself with his feet up and his back rested against the arm, the notebooks rested on his legs, "I'll be… Half an hour? Then I'll get back to it."

Jonathan glared at the lack of space on the sofa. Finally he shook his head and turned, going to look for a chair. He found a fairly comfy leather chair stored in one of the other rooms. Unfortunately for him the chair was rather heavy and he struggled with it. It would have been a rather amusing thing for anyone watching. Jonathan trying to move this chair with his scrawny frame, pulling at it as it was too broad across the back to pick up, occasionally cursing and kicking it, yet very determined to get it to the lounge.

Edward smirked as he heard Jon struggling, he got to his feet and walked from the room, finding Jon and leaning against the wall, "You know you could ask me to help, or you could have asked me to move my feet."

Jonathan just glared at him.

"Oh shut up Edward. You know you wouldn't have given me any sofa space. You would have just complained about how you couldn't work with me there and how you needed space. But as you are here, yes, help me get this chair to the lounge."

Edward took himself away from the wall, "You could have asked a little nicer, I'm doing you a favour here. I could easily just sit back and laugh at your struggle." He waited a second or two, trying to figure out how to move it without hurting himself. "Take that arm," Edward said with a gesture to the opposing arm, "I'll take this one." He bent down and grabbed the arm, only just managing to hold it aloft without dropping it.

Jonathan took the other arm and helped Edward as they struggled to put it in the lounge. He inspected the chair once it was in place and made himself comfortable on it. After a little while, once settled he looked at Edward.

"Thank you Edward," he said sincerely.

Edward nodded politely, "No problem Jon, see? We can work together." He smirked again as he flopped back hard onto the sofa, making it slide back an inch or so with the force, "But you're right I wouldn't have moved my feet."

Jonathan just smirked, satisfied that he was right. He carried on reading his way through his book. Occasionally he would look up at Edward to try and gage if he was actually working or not. Edward chewed his lip, humming non-spoken words as he read over his notes, laughing when he noticed a mistake, correcting it and laughing mockingly at his own carelessness, he looked up at Jon for a moment before returning to his work.

Jonathan was steadily growing more and more annoyed as Edward made small noises. He tried to get back to his book but ever little noise grated on his nerves. Eventually he slammed down his book and stood up, stalking out of the room and going to make himself another drink.

Edward watched Jon leave the room, he looked angry… but then again he always looked angry. "I'm almost done with this," he shouted after him, "Would it be ok if I put the radio on while I do the next bit?"

"Fine!" Jonathan shouted back before stalking back to the door frame, "Whatever makes you work."

"Didn't know you were so passionate about _my_ work," Edward cooed, "If you're trying to rush me, don't, or I'll get something wrong." He finished the last sentence of his work and got to his feet, walking to the door and looking at the number pad, punching in the four numbers and smiling as it clicked open, he turned his head back to Jon, "You _do_ change the passcode for this regularly don't you?"

"Of course I change the passcode regularly," Jonathan snapped, rolling his eyes, "The last thing I want is her getting out, or worse, anyone else finding her. So I take it you will be working down there from now on?"

Edward shrugged, standing with the door hanging open, "I dunno. If you're bothered by me working up here then yes, sure…" He looked down the stairs, "But if she's asleep I don't want to wake her, so I'll be working upstairs."

"Well I am unable to work until you are finished and so I shall be reading in the lounge. If you do need my assistance you know where to find me. And be careful with her," he sighed returning to his chair

Edward frowned gently, still leaning against the doorframe, "What do you mean 'be careful', why would I do anything to harm her?"

"I didn't suggest you would harm her Edward. Just be careful with what you say and do," Jonathan warned.

Edward grunted in clarification, still frowning slightly, "Right," he said to himself as he began to descend the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to everyone who has read this from both me and my co-author.

This story is a converted RP and Lydia was never a planned character. We have no plot, just spontaneous writing so, we hope you enjoy it anyway. If you do, then please review.

* * *

Lydia was standing next to the water basin scrubbing one of her legs with the sponge, her foot up on the porcelain. The screen was moved to one side and her back was to Edward. She was humming one of the classical tunes by Vivaldi from earlier.

Edward smiled widely at the sight of the girl, repressing a chuckle as his eyes flicked away from her, "Evening Lydia, sorry to interrupt. I… wanted to get the radio."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Hello Edward Nigma," she said sweetly as she removed her leg from the sink, "Are you still working?"

Edward nodded gently, "Well, actually I was hoping to_ resume_ work… Is it ok if I work down here or would you like me to go back upstairs. It's just, I need the music to work."

"You can work down here, if you don't mind me washing? I like the music too. I'll try not to disturb you," she said.

Edward frowned slightly, "That might be a little inappropriate, it's not proper for a lady to wash in front of a man, even if they're intimate." He looked around the room, "I suppose I could face away from you though."

"Sorry Edward," she said as she lowered her leg, looking at him concerned she would do something wrong. Then she asked; "What is intimate?"

Edward stuttered gently, "I-I…" He cleared his throat, "It's when you're incredibly close to another person and you spend all of your time with them and you… love them."

"It sounds nice," she said sweetly, returning to the bed, looking up at him innocently. "But what is love?"

Edward held a hand to his face, "Love is… wanting to spend all your time with one person, having a _favourite_. But… there are different types of love, there's friend love and romantic love, those are the most common."

Lydia smiled widely, like something suddenly made sense.

"You want me to love you Edward? You said earlier you wanted to be my favourite human."

Edward cleared his throat, "Um," he smiled and stuttered a little more, "In a friend way, not.. uh, not romantic, I don't think."

Lydia looked at him confused and then sad. "I am sorry I don't understand words and that I am.. uneducated but...what is friends and what is romantic?" she asked worried but undeniably curious all the same.

Edward felt himself blush, "Uh…" he cleared his throat again, trying to stop himself feeling so uncomfortable. "Friend means that you want to be with the person, but not…" he pinched his brow, "Not have sex with them, but, you don't know what sex is do you…?"

"No, can you explain it to me please Edward? I like it when you explain things to me. It makes me happy," she said as she looked at him hopefully

Edward grinned through embarrassment, he didn't really want to answer, but his compulsion to answer questions was going to get the better of him and he knew it. "Well, I don't… um… Men and women have areas of the body that cause a certain sort of pleasure, and sex is one person causing that pleasure to another person."

Lydia patted herself down and looked at herself.

"I don't think I have those areas Edward. Nowhere causes me pleasure, but lots of places are painful," she mused looking unhappy. "Does that mean I'll never be in love?"

"No, no," Edward said, taking a step forward, "It doesn't mean that, i-it shouldn't be painful, it's only painful if you do it wrong. Y-You don't have to do it to be able to love."

Lydia stood up and looked up at Edward, she was shorter than him at only 5ft 5.

"Thank you for explaining everything to me Edward. I think I would like to be loved if it is as nice as you say," she said quietly with a smile

Edward's eyes widened and he stepped back quickly, "I-I… Um, What do you mean, Lydia?"

She looked at the floor and then at Edward. "Well, maybe...when the tests are done I could...maybe...you could. Well, find me someone to love? I'd like that. Please Edward? When all the tests are done?"

Edward exhaled gently, feeling his discomfort leave him, he gave the girl a soft smile, stepping towards her again, "Lydia, I can't choose who you love. It's something you decide by yourself. Y-You don't even decide it, it just happens." His smile widened a little, "It's one of the best feelings in the world."

"Have you ever been in love Edward? You sound like you have," she asked eagerly

Edward nodded gently, "Yes, I've been in love 3 times, one girl two guys. And I had sex with the two guys."

Lydia sat down and crossed her legs, like a child at story-time.

"Can you tell me about them Edward? I'd like to understand and I have so many questions. Please?"

Edward smirked and nodded, taking his seat, next to her.

"Yeah, sure. Um, the first one, the girl, I was only 12, but my father told me not to talk to her, so nothing happened… not that it would have anyway, I was far too young. Um, next… was Thomas, when I was 14, he was my first, he… used me, basically, I thought he was perfect but… nope, far from it. And then Harvey, when I was 23, we would probably still be together if he hadn't been put in prison."

"Prison? Someone took away your love? Oh Edward that must be terrible. If it feels very good to have love then it must feel very bad for it to be taken from you. Is there any way I can make you feel better Edward?" she asked looking decidedly sad but hopeful.

Edward smiled and shook his head, "No, Lydia, it's the sort of pain that doesn't go away. Even if I fall in love again I'll still feel it." He swallowed gently, shifting on the spot, "…He might get out one day, but it's been three years. It doesn't look likely."

Lydia looked down as silent tears hit the mattress. It was the saddest thing that Lydia had ever heard. But being so sheltered it wasn't surprising.

Edward let out a huffed chuckle, "Oh Lydia, don't cry," he cooed, scooting closer to her and pulled her into a hug, "It's ok," he chuckled, "It's fine."

As soon as he hugged her she went silent. And then started trembling, easily mistaken for sobbing. And then she screamed pushing him away and crying;

"Please don't hurt me, please don't..."

Jonathan heard the scream from where he had been sitting in the lab and rushed down the stairs.

"What the fuck did you do Edward!?" he exclaimed.

Edward held up a hand to still Jon, "I barely touched her."

Jonathan knelt down and assessed Lydia.

"Edward, she is suffering trauma. See the glazed look? I told you she had been deliberately made to suffer so she would have a fear response!" He sighed, exasperated, as if this was obvious and Edward should have known better.

Edward's head turned back to Lydia, and he spoke softly again, "Lydia, calm down, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you I swear, I would _never_ hurt you."

Lydia's eye's focused somewhat as Edward spoke to her. She looked at him, sniffling, he lip wobbling and said; "Never?"

Edward shook his head quickly, unsure of how to act now, he wanted to take her hand to reassure her, but what if that made her worse?

"Never, Lydia, I promise, I'd never harm you. Y-You were upset I was trying to comfort you. I didn't want you to be upset, I'm so sorry."

Lydia nodded and tried to smile. "Really..?" she said as she sniffled. "You promise? What is a promise?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes. This was all so uncalled for and would certainly lead to problems. Edward stuttered a little, he kept forgetting that Lydia didn't know things that he thought of as basic.

"Uh, 'promise' means I will stick to it, it means I actually will _never_ hurt you, ok?" he looked her up and down, "Are you ok, I didn't mean to scare you."

Lydia uncurled as Jonathan passed her a handkerchief which she took but she was still looking at Edward. Lydia believed when Jonathan or Edward told her something. Despite the pain and fear, now that Edward had said, had promised he wouldn't hurt her she truly believed that he never would, that she would _always_ be safe with him.

"I'm ok," she sniffed as she scootched closer to Edward.

She laid her head on his arm, wrapping her arms around his. She nuzzled him slightly as she leaned against his side. Edward rubbed against the girl gently, like a cat would, he moved his arm round her and cupped her waist.

"See this is what I was going for, this is nice, right?" He looked over at Jon, giving him a gentle smirk.

"It's very nice. Thank you Edward," she muttered as he held her.

Jonathan rolled his eyes followed by a frown.

"No good will come of this," he said quietly to Edward.

"It's fine," Edward said dismissively to Jon, still holding the girl in his arms, "It's not like I'm the one doing the tests, as I said; I want her to like me."

"I do like you Edward," she confirmed quietly and sweetly.

"Well, in that case I shall leave you with your girlfriend," Jonathan teased, getting up, "And try to get some work done."

Edward lifted an eyebrow, "I thought you said you couldn't do anything till I'd finished my notes? You holdin' out on me, Jon?" He smirked, "Keeping all the fun work for yourself?"

Jonathan smiled darkly. "Oh, I can't make anything that will work on _her_ right now, but..."

Edward frowned slightly, trying to shift into a more comfortable position, "Hm, fine, it's not really meant for her though, remember that."

Jonathan sighed and smiled to himself, realising that Edward had completely missed his threat. He just shook his head and went back upstairs. Edward huffed a little as he watched Jon ascend the stairs, then turned his eyes to the girl in his arms.

"Feeling calmer?" he asked, giving her a slight squeeze, "Shall I put the music back on?"

Lydia looked straight up at him with her big innocent blue eyes. "Yes, a little. Thank you Edward, though..." She stopped, hesitant about something.

Edward tilted his head slightly, looking down at her and smiling, "Hm?" he inquired lightly.

She bit her lip as she thought what to say.

"It doesn't seem that Jon likes me like you do..." she said sounding slightly sad and concerned by this.

Edward shook his head, "No, I don't think so, that's ok though, he doesn't like anyone." He widened his smile to reassure her, "Some people just… don't like people."

Lydia looked conflicted and like she was thinking and then she said; "But, if Jon doesn't like people, he'll never fall in love and find that really good feeling you spoke of. Never be intimate or have sex. Won't that make him sad? It seems unfair with what you have lost," she reasoned as she still nuzzled against Edward's arm.

Edward hummed lightly, impressed again by her reasoning, "Just because he doesn't like people doesn't mean he can't love, it just means he finds it harder to, and you don't _need_ to be in love to have sex… Actually I don't know if Jon even likes sex," his head lulled a little and his voice started to fade out, "…Maybe he's Asexual or something, has he even had sex? He's never talked about it, that's odd…" he let out a small huff as he came back to his senses, his eyes jolting back to the girl as he cleared his throat.

Lydia was looking far better and even smiling a little.

"Well you could always ask him," she offered helpfully

Edward chuckled, shaking his head, "No, no…" he smiled at her; obviously lacking in social graces, "It's not something most people can just talk about. It's considered rather sensitive."

Lydia looked thoughtful for a moment. "If it is something you want to know, but you can't get the answer obviously, does that make it a riddle?" she asked him, based on his previous definition.

Edward smirked, cocking his head slightly, "I suppose it does, very smart Lydia. I've not thought of it like that before."

Lydia looked happy that Edward had called her smart. "I am happy that I can help you Edward," she said sitting up properly.

Edward's eyes darted to the floor after a second as he realised he had his notebook but not his pen, had he put it down? Had Jon taken it without his realising? He moved away from Lydia slightly, letting his arm drop from her.

"Have you seen my pen? I really should start this work."

"No, I haven't seen it. I will be quiet so you can work," she said as she backed away a little.

Edward spotted the pen under the bed, how it had got there he had no idea. He then walked quickly across the room to turn the radio on, setting it again to classical music.

"Would you like to sit with me?" he asked the girl, "Do you want to see what I'm doing?" he smiled slightly; it would be interesting to see Lydia's thoughts on what Edward was trying to achieve. Maybe he'd have her doing chemistry by the end of the day?

"Yes please Edward. I feel like I have learnt so much but I also feel like I am so empty. I'd love to know more," she said as she went to sit with him. Her face a picture of happy curiosity.

Edward nodded, "Good, I'd be more than happy to teach you." He frowned gently as the girl sat with him, wondering how much she 'should' know by now, "How old are you? Do you know your physical age?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't know. Jon might know how old I am," she replied looking at herself. She could be anywhere between 20 and 35. "And yes, I would like for you to teach me."

"I'll ask him next time I see him," Edward mumbled to remind himself. He smiled widely at the girl, "The thing I'm doing at the moment is chemistry, that's when you mix different things together in different ways in order to make something new happen." He turned his notebook towards her; filled with neatly scribbled notes and diagrams of chemical formulas, with a few unneeded and detailed drawings around the edges- little pictures to keep Edward's hands busy while his mind worked. "This is what it looks like when it's written down."

Lydia looked over the note book, trying to understand.

"So those shapes are different things and you combine them to make new things with new shapes. Do the letters and numbers mean something and are they carried over to the new things or..." She thought for a moment, "Or would there be too many so only some properties make the new thing?"

"Uh," Edward chuckled, "It's mainly the letters and numbers, they make up the base, "These," he gestured to the drawings, "Are unrelated," he gestured to the chemical symbols, "These are the ones you sequence."

Lydia nodded as she took it in. She had to have Edward explain the very basics to her but her aptitude for leaning was good and she was able to put it together quickly.

Edward quickly became quite engrossed in telling the girl about his work, often going off on tangents and perhaps telling her a little too much about himself. "_I _learned this when I was twelve. I tried to run away and stay in a barn a couple of miles from my house. I stayed there for two days before they found me."

Lydia listened to Edwards stories and took in his lessons. She didn't understand a lot of what he said in the personal tales but they interested her none the less.

"Why did you run away? Was it dangerous like you said outside was?" She asked with concern.

Edward nodded sadly, "Yes… Exactly like that, really." He sighed slightly, "I wish I had someone to protect me like you have me," he reached out a hand to gently pat her knee, smiling slightly.

She looked at his hand and then smiled at him. "Thank you for protecting me Edward. I don't understand why you had no-one. You are so smart and nice. If I was there I would have tried, even if it was dangerous. For you," she reassured him.

Edward smiled at her, letting out a gentle huff, "I'm sure you would have tried, but I don't think you would have succeeded." He smiled gently, "I'd rather be the one protecting you."

"Thank you Edward. If that is what you want," she replied and then thoughtfully, "I am not stopping your work am I? I don't want to be a burden."

"Hmm?" Edward mumbled as he looked down at his work, "You are a little, but it's ok, you're leaning things, so I don't mind. I like your company." –He'd never felt as smart as he did when around her, and her view on the world was refreshing; a lighter and more naïve version of his own.

"Thank you Edward. I'll try to learn as hard as possible so your time isn't wasted," she smiled with enthusiasm. She settled and let him teach her more. She felt happy with Edward, something new in her short life.


	5. Chapter 5

About 2 hours later Jonathan came down the basement stairs with a coffee pot in hand and interrupted them. He looked over the two of them disapprovingly.

"And there was I thinking you were working," he said with sarcasm which was totally lost on Lydia as she looked up.

"We are. Edward is teaching it to me."

Jonathan sighed and looked at Edward. "I brought you some coffee as it is 2am but by the looks of things here I don't think you deserve it."

Edward frowned, "I think I do; I've been having to break it down to a basic level so Lydia-" he gently squeezed her leg, smiling encouragingly at her, "-can understand, I've actually had a couple of breakthroughs. With any luck I should have a working formula within the next couple of days."

"Well at least we have a timescale," he muttered as he descended the stairs.

He placed the pot of coffee and a cup on the side, caving in but not going to verbally admit it. He was about to head to the stairs when he stopped and turned to the two of them, an odd look in his eye.

"So how is her education going?" he asked.

Edward looked between the two and smiled, patting Lydia's knee again, "It's going rather well, she's not said a single stupid thing, I'm rather proud." Edward hummed a little in thinking, "I've covered most of the basic principles and I think you're starting to get it now aren't you Lydia?"

"Yes, it is very interesting. I want to learn everything Edward can teach me. He knows so much and it is so fascinating. I like how it all connects in my head and makes new ideas," Lydia smiled.

Jonathan smirked as he pushed up his glasses. It all made sense now. She was an ego boost. 'Oh Edward, so predictable' he thought.

"As a blank slate I imagine it is rather easy to fill her mind without it being clouded by the restraints of everyday life. I shall leave you to your teaching Edward, don't stay up too late," he said, though it was noticeable that he never spoke to Lydia herself.

"I'll try," Edward replied happily, "But I don't know if I can keep myself away from her!" His head suddenly perked up, "Oh! Jon, I wanted to ask; Do you know how old she is? Physically, I mean?"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow at the question of age specially when coupled with his eagerness to be with her.

"I believe her donor was twenty-nine. Perfectly legal," he snarked

Edward frowned, "I wasn't questioning her legality." His eyes flicked back to Lydia and his smile returned, "That means you're actually _older_ than me Lydia," he said with a slight smugness.

"Oh!?" Lydia replied, looking a little confused by this. "But you have so many more stories inside you than I do."

"Stories Edward?" Jonathan smirked.

Edward glared at Jon and shifted on the seat, moving a little closer to Lydia, "I go off on tangents when I'm teaching her, Jon, I can't help it."

"I am sure you can't. Why don't you tell one of your stories now? I'd be intrigued to hear," Jonathan said as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Edward frowned a little in confusion, again shifting on the bed, "It's not a pick and choose, Jon, I talk about work and just keep talking it's really not voluntary."

"Well in that case, you won't mind if I just sit here and observe whilst you teach her then. It will be useful for the comparison once experimentation has started," he replied, making himself comfortable, not that comfortable was a word that could ever really be applied to him. He sat there, back against the wall, holding his cup of coffee in the hand that was resting on his one bent knee.

Edward swallowed the lump of discomfort in his throat, "Fine, if I must. I didn't know you were so interested in my teachings." He cleared his throat and turned to Lydia, showing her a mathematical graph. "What you do here Lydia, is plot out the points, like this," he marked down the numbers they had from a previous point, "And then you draw a line through the middle," he drew a line, "That's called the derivative. It helps you find an average point, and that gives you a baseline to work from."

Lydia did not seem too bothered by Jonathan's intrusion. She didn't really have a strong opinion of him, yet. Instead she looked at Edward with her adoring blue eyes as she hung off his every word, so willing to learn.

"Do we then use the baseline for comparison to find the standard deviations?" She asked, working on what he had previously said.

"Yes that's right Lydia," Edward said, smiling widely, giving her a gentle nudge of affection, "Very smart," he complimented, "So we put these ones here," he scrawled down some numbers, "And work with them from now on." He looked up at her, seeming to have forgotten Jon's presence, "I'm very impressed with you Lydia, I don't think I've ever met anyone who learns this fast… It must be your Kryptonian DNA showing up. I must say I've never met a Kryptonian who I've liked before now, but you are truly lovely."

Jonathan shook his head. This was going to get...complicated. You should never get attached to a test subject. However, if it gave her a more formed personality then perhaps there would be benefits after all.

Lydia smiled and even blushed a little red across her cheeks as he complimented her. But then she looked confused. "What is a Kyrptonian?" She asked.

Jonathan's head snapped up and he glared at Edward.

Edward smiled softly, realising he'd given her a little too much information; she shouldn't really ask things like that, he gave her yet another gentle pat on the knee, "Oh, uh, that's _outside _information. Ok?" he said softly, gesturing his head to the door at the top of the stairs.

"But you said I have Kryptonian DNA. If it is an outside thing, then is it bad? Am I bad? You said you didn't like Kryptonians before. And what is DNA?" she pleaded looking very concerned and worried as she held onto Edwards knee.

Edward gave an attempt at a comforting smile, "Hey, calm down, ok, it's fine," he moved his hand to her arm and rubbed it gently to loosen her grip on him, "Look, it's ok," he talked calmly but he could feel a slight tension rising in him; Lydia was making a scene, because of him, in front of Jon. "You're not bad, you're brilliant. But you're not really Kryptonian, you're only a bit Kryptonian, that part of you doesn't really matter. Ok? Kryptonians are something you don't need to know about, they're not all bad but they and be dangerous, that's why I don't like them."

Lydia still didn't look too sure.

"But...but does that make me a little bit dangerous?" she asked quietly.

"Lydia!" Jonathan snapped, making her jump and then turn to look at him. He then spoke very smoothly; "This is why we are testing you. You are going to help the world remember? And you will do that by being tested on, and what we learn will be used to stop Kryptonians being dangerous. You wouldn't want to stay dangerous would you? You wouldn't want to hurt Edward...?"

"Hurt!...no, I would never hurt Edward. Could it happen?" Lydia cried, mortified.

"Yes, it could. An accident of course, caused by your Kryptonian side. And that is why you must suffer the tests," he continued.

"I'll do anything, suffer anything if it keeps Edward safe. Other people didn't keep him safe but I want to," she said with feeling.

"Good," Jonathan said firmly with a small victorious smile.

Edward frowned at Jon but felt his spirit rise a little at the passion in Lydia's voice; the lengths she would go to make sure he didn't get hurt. "Jon," he said softly, like a half-hearted scold. He turned to Lydia, his hand still on her arm, "Lydia, I am safe, ok?" he smiled gently, "Don't be worried. It's ok."

Lydia turned back to Edward and gave him a very gentle hug.

"I'll never hurt you Edward," she whispered.

Edward wrapped his arms around the girl, and nuzzled Lydia slightly, "I know you wouldn't, it's ok, I know."

Jonathan stretched and got off the bed.

"I am going back upstairs. Try not to make any more mess Edward. I won't always be there to clean up after you," he said with half-hearted tired disapproval.

He turned his head, away from their hug, "I could have fixed it without upsetting her," he growled lightly.

Jonathan just gave him an unimpressed scowl.

"I like you Edward. You are so nice and so fascinating," she whispered and then yawned.

Edward chuckled lightly, "Thank you Lydia, I'm glad you like me, I like you too," he exhaled gently, "'You tired Lydia? Do you want me to go?"

"I really want you to continue but, I feel tired. I think I need to sleep Edward. I am so sorry," she said obviously torn

"It's ok Lydia," Edward said sweetly, tightening their hug a little, "I can stop now and come back down to continue in the morning. Would you like that? If you need to sleep then you should sleep, you need your strength."

"Yes please Edward. I think I'll fall asleep here if you don't go. But could you leave the music on?" she asked as she enjoyed his embrace.

Edward nodded and let his arms slacken around the girl, he paused as he thought over her words, "You don't want me to go until you've fallen asleep? Or should I stay here all night?"

Lydia looked at him and then at the floor as if she was trying to decide on something. She then looked back to him.

"I…I'd like you to stay but...but I have nightmares and I wake up and scream and I don't want to disturb you Edward," she said quickly, ashamed of her night-terrors.

Edward smiled, "That's ok," he said sweetly, "I don't sleep much anyway, and maybe I'll be able to make you feel better? Maybe having me here will help?"

"Thank you Edward. You are so nice to me. But…could you leave, just for a little while. I need to wash and use the bathroom," she said sounding embarrassed.

The bathroom was just a toilet next to the basin the in the corner of the room which was surrounded by a medical style screen.

"Oh," Edward said quickly, an embarrassed smile coming to him, "Yeah of course," he shifted away from her, getting off the bed, "I'm kinda hungry anyway, I'll make myself some toast or something and come back, ok?" He looked back at her as he made his way to the stairs.

"Yes," she smiled sleepily. "And thank you Edward."

Meanwhile, Jonathan was upstairs in the lab, making a few notes and looking over his previous ones.

Edward closed the door gently and nodded politely to Jon as he passed through, "I'm just making some toast and going back down. Aren't you going to bed?"

He walked into the kitchen before getting an answer, and he began to rummage through the cupboards to find the bread. Jonathan got up, followed him to the kitchen and leaned in the door way.

"I wanted to check something in my notes first, but yes, I will be retiring to that particularly nice bed shortly," Jonathan replied, he did look tired, but then that wasn't unusual. "Are you going to keep her up studying all night Edward? She isn't going to disappear, she _can_ wait till morning."

"She's asked to go to sleep," Edward asked nonchalantly as he put his bread in the toaster, "I'm going to stay with her while she sleeps." He smirked a little, "I kind of want to witness one of these nightmares."

Jonathan gave him a sceptical look.

"Really? And what interest do her nightmares hold for you Edward?"

He shrugged in reply and turned to take his toast from the toaster, "None really, I just want to see what happens."

"Very well," Jonathan replied too tired to care what Edward was really up to.

He had his suspicions but nothing he really wanted to dwell on. Edward could do whatever he wanted as long as he fixed the formula. Jonathan gave a small smile at the thought of testing it out on her. Edward frowned to himself, beginning to butter his toast.

"I really like Lydia," he thought out loud before taking a bite of his food, he turned and looked up at Jon, "You look really tired, perhaps you should sleep…"

"I noticed," he snarked, "And yes, sleep is the plan. I shall see you in the morning."

Jonathan turned and went to go upstairs.

"Ok," Edward replied with a smile, "See you in the morning." As Jon left the room Edward gulped down his toast and returned to the door, he opened it, looking away, and knocked on the inside of the door, "Lydia is it ok if I come down? Are you decent?" he asked happily.

"Yes Edward. I'm in bed," Lydia called having already washed and such. She had had basic self-care programmed into her when created.

"Ok," he called down as he closed the door, he quickly trotted down and stood at their foot, he looked over at her and smiled, "Do you want me to sit on the bed or would you like me to take my chair?"

"Ummm...I would very much like if you would hold me. Like you were earlier? You made me feel so...peaceful," she said, feeling awkward and not really knowing why though her face was a little flush.

Edward smiled and nodded gently, happy to oblige he walked to the side of the bed, taking his place there and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, a happy smile on his face as he pulled her close.

"Are you going to be able to sleep like this? It's not uncomfortable is it?"

"Hmmm..." she looked at him and thought. She pushed him slightly, gently so his back was against the headboard causing his feet to be on the bed too. And then she curled up with his arm around her as she buried her face against his chest. "I can sleep like this. Thank you Edward, this is...perfect," she sighed happily.

Edward hummed gently, "Yeah it is," he said softly, leaning forward and giving Lydia a quick kiss on the forehead, "Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep too."

Lydia closed her eyes and was soon fast sleep. About three hours in however she started to mutter in her sleep and become fidgety shortly followed by crying, obviously suffering a bad dream that seemed to be getting worse. Edward was woken by the odd noises of the woman against his chest, he looked down sleepily, taking a moment to remember where he was and who he was with.

"L-Lydia…?" he said with a sleepy crack in his voice. He cleared his throat, "Lydia are you alright?" he asked softly, shaking her a little.

Lydia was breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face. As Edward shook her she let out a scream and woke up, eyes wide and terrified. It took her a moment to focus.

"Edward?" she said, her voice all broken.

Edward jumped slightly at her scream, then smiled as she said his name, "Hi, Lydia. Were you having a bad dream?"

Lydia's lip wobbled as she went to speak, her eyes filling with tears again. She nodded a confirmation instead and scooched up close to him. Still sniffling she eventually said: "It was terrible Edward, I...I just want to forget. Please don't let them hurt me again."

Edward hugged her tightly and nuzzled into her hair, "Oh it's ok Lydia, it was just a dream, no one here _wants_ to hurt you ok?" he swallowed hard as curiosity filled him; what were her bad dreams about? He let out a gentle sigh, "And if you don't want to tell me what the dreams were about, that's ok. I would like to know though."

Lydia sniffled and swallowed hard. "I...in my...dream it's dark...so dark and they…" her voice cracked with pain. Lydia sat up, pushing away from Edward. She got up and got some tissue to blow her nose as she sat on the edge of the bed, her face buried in more tissue as she tried to dry her eyes.

Edward scooted on the bed after her, swinging his legs off the side and looking up at her, "It's ok Lydia, you don't have to tell me. I don't want you upset."

"Monsters, Edward, in the darkness...such horrible monsters," she whispered, her eyes glazed and flowing with tears. She mopped them up again and blew her nose before giving him a weak smile. She placed a hand on his. "Thank you Edward. Sorry I woke you."

"It's ok Lydia," Edward cooed, pulling the girl onto the bed and into a tight hug, "It's ok there aren't any monsters." He smiled gently, "I don't mind that you woke me up. It's not your fault, if something's wrong you should be able to tell me. Ok?"

Lydia pressed herself against him for comfort, finding warmth in his embrace.

"I don't want to remember, Edward. Please don't make me. Ask Jon, he knows. He makes me tell. He writes it all down. I don't want to do that tonight. Please just hold me," she begged.

Edward shushed her loudly and nuzzled into her hair, "It's ok," he repeated quietly, "You don't have to tell me _anything_ Ok? You only tell me what you want, I'm not like Jon I won't make you tell, ok?"

"Thank you Edward," she smiled up at him. Lydia nuzzled against Edward and closed her eyes. Her breath dropped into a shallow rhythm and she started to drift back to sleep in Edward's arms.

Edward smiled and shifted her further onto the bed, happy that he could be there to comfort her, but still curious about what those dreams were about. She said Jon had written them down, he could ask Jon what they were about. He frowned with slight anger; Jon had _made_ her remember. That wasn't needed, he didn't _need_ to know what she dreamed about. He'd done that for his own sick pleasure. He pulled her close to him and nuzzled into her again, whispering, "I won't let him do it again Lydia, I don't want you to go through more pain than you have to."


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning at around 10am Jonathan dragged his sorry self out of bed and headed straight for the shower. The water was cold but he didn't care. He washed himself quickly and efficiently before getting out, grabbing a towel and drying off. Jonathan didn't bother to comb through his hair, it never did anything but stick out rebelliously anyway. After dressing in worn faded, once black trousers and a brown shirt he went downstairs expecting to find Edward happily working with his usual annoying level of enthusiasm and chatter. Instead he found the lab empty. He checked the kitchen, putting on some coffee whilst he was at it. Then he remembered that Edward had said he would be watching over Lydia. Jonathan sighed, he still couldn't believe that Edward had named her. He shook his head, waited till the coffee was ready, poured himself some and went to unlock the basement door.

Jonathan was speechless as he got to the bottom of the stairs. He had expected to find Edward asleep on the chair, instead he was in bed with Lydia, entwined. Jonathan gave the pair an extremely disapproving look and went back upstairs. He pulled the security alarm. That should wake them up.

Edward's head jolted up with a shot, and he let out a loud shout of "Shit!" as his hands flew to his ears. He got to his feet, blinking through shock and tiredness. "J-Jon?" he shouted loudly up the stairs, his head flicked back to look at Lydia, "L-Lydia?"

Lydia was curled up on the bed, hands over her ears, looking at Edward with wide frightened eyes. The alarm stopped and Jonathan appeared in the basement doorway at the top of the stairs.

"Ah, you're awake. I was just checking that the alarm worked. Can't be too safe," he said, supressing a smile at Edward's dishevelled and distressed state.

"You bastard," Edward snapped with a frown, he turned his head back to Lydia, "Lydia are you alright, sweetheart?" he said as calmly as he could, trying to tell her through his tone that everything was ok, though his anger at Jon seemed to taint it.

Jonathan chuckled to himself as he casually followed Edward downstairs.

"What? What was that?" Lydia asked taking her hands off her ears and sitting up. "It was so loud."

She looked concerned but not upset. However her eyes focused over Edward's shoulder at Jonathan and she stiffened slightly.

"Jon set off the fucking security alarm," he said with a glare at the man, "Why the fuck, Jon? We were asleep."

Jonathan folded his arms and gave Edward a stern look.

"Really? Cosy were we?" he taunted. "You're here to work Edward, not..._enjoy_ yourself," he snapped.

Edward squinted his eyes through confusion, slightly non-cognisant through tiredness, "Enjoy- Jon what are you talking about? I have been working, I was asleep."

Jonathan didn't look convinced. He glared suspiciously at Lydia then back to Edward. No, he didn't want to know what had been going on between them.

"It has gone 10am." He replied flatly.

Edward's eyes widened, "Really?" he asked, suddenly realising there was no clock in the room, but it must have been about 3am when they'd gone to sleep, "I got 7 hours sleep? Wow, I must have been tired." He turned and smiled to Lydia, "Seems you did help," he smiled happily.

Jonathan looked mildly disgusted as Edward spoke to Lydia.

Lydia however smiled at Edward. "I'll always help you Edward."

Edward cleared his throat and looked up the stairs, "I should get some breakfast, do we have anything good upstairs?"

"Check the fridge. Food is delivered weekly," Jonathan muttered.

"Oh ok," Edward smiled with a nod, "Would you like anything Lydia? I can bring you down something?" He paused slightly, looking at Jon, he didn't really want to leave him down here with Lydia on their own, he knew Jon made Lydia feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he could keep Lydia talking until Jon got bored and left.

"Yes please." Lydia smiled, "I am quite hungry."

Jonathan huffed and went back upstairs. "Come on Edward. If you are going to cook for her, you can cook for me as well," he called back down to him.

Edward nodded after him, "Don't expect anything _good_." He turned and smiled a Lydia as he walked up the stairs, "I'll come down in a bit with the food and we'll continue where we left off, alright?"

"Yes, thank you Edward. I'll get ready," Lydia said with a smile as she got up.

Jonathan waited in the kitchen for Edward. Bored, he rummaged through the fridge seeing what there was. There was still quite a bit of food, mainly cause Jonathan hadn't really cooked anything.

"Well you said you were a better cook than me, so prove it," he said as he noticed Edward approach him.

Edward huffed gently, "Fine… let's see," he looked through the cupboards, "Uh…" he mused, chewing his lip, "Oh! Pancakes? I can do pancakes." He collected up the eggs, milk and flour necessary, and found a bowl, pouring them together and beginning to mix them, "So did you have a nice sleep Jon? All up in your _fancy_ bed?"

Jonathan leaned against the counter and watched as Edward cooked.

"Yes actually. That _fancy _bed as you call it is particularly nice. Not that you needed it after all. All snug downstairs with Lydia," he bitched.

Edward nodded gently, stirring the milk into the bowl and finding a pan to cook the pancakes in.

"Yep, she is a lovely girl. Uh, I wanted to ask you though, Lydia said you wrote down some of her bad dreams, I wanted to know if _I_ could read them?"

"You would not _want_ to read them Edward. They are the compilation of the fantasy of her dreaming mind and the torture that Luthor put her through before he delivered her here. None of it is pleasant though most of it is predictable and uninspiring," Jonathan replied casually.

Edward let out a gentle 'Hmm' as he felt his stomach jolt a little with the words Jon used. He poured the pancake mix into the pan, swilling it around slightly, "Can you at least tell me the basics? I'm curious but she doesn't want to tell me."

Jonathan sighed, it wasn't anything he really wanted to think about let alone explain. It was times like this that he was glad for that pool of icy emotional numbness that he called a soul.

"I suppose. From what I can gather Luthor left her in a dark room and basically allowed his people to torture her in increasingly disgusting ways over a period of from what I can gather would be a few weeks. All a rather crude and distasteful way of implanting fears. I would have done it both differently and more effectively if Luthor had bothered to ask," he explained wearily.

Edward let out a huff, keeping his eyes on his pancake as he flipped it, "He should have let you do it, you would have been able to make it less distressing but invoke more fear." He sighed as he tipped his pancake onto a plate and started on the next one.

"Exactly. However now that the damage is done there is very little I can do about it. I mean, it could be undone, obviously, unconditioning a fear response isn't exactly difficult though that would take time. So for now we are stuck with her the way she is. It will serve for our purpose though," Jonathan explained as he watched Edward. The smell of food actually rather appealing making him realise just how much he usually neglected his hunger.

Edward let out another "Hmm," and flipped the second pancake, "What sort of stuff did they do to her? I want to know what to avoid."

"Have a guess," Jonathan said sounding annoyed and bored, "Luthor left a group of his thugs in a dark room with a completely innocent young lady. It doesn't take a genius to work out the likely outcomes of that." Jonathan looked far from impressed with this.

Edward swallowed hard and let his eyes slip closed, his stomach turning at the thought; he had thought that might have been it, but he had hoped it wasn't true. "Disgusting ilk…" he half-growled as he tried to shrug the feeling and continue with his pancakes.

"You seem to make her...comfortable, though," Jonathan added, trying to improve Edward's mood, though mainly cause he didn't want the pancakes to spoil.

Edward let himself smile a little, "It's not fair for her to be scared _all_ the time," he said, focusing still on the pancakes, tipping them onto the plate and pouring yet another onto the pan.

"Well she seemed happy enough when you were teaching her last night. And she did _sleep_ with you. So I doubt she is scared all the time," Jonathan put in as he went through the cupboards to look for things to add to the pancakes, finding sugar and some random chocolate spread.

"I hope that's true," Edward nodded thoughtfully as he finished the last pancake, making 5 in total. "One or two?" he asked Jon as he separated them out onto plates, giving himself a single one, and Lydia two.

'Well, that confirms it,' Jonathan thought. It was beyond him why Edward would do that with someone who had no real personality, who was mentally not much better than a child but then Edward was impulsive and obvious still hormonally a teenager. Jonathan pushed the thoughts from his head.

"Two please," he replied, not wanting to pass up on ready made food.

Edward placed the pancakes on the plate and handed them over, taking his and Lydia's plates into his hands, "Do you think it helped, me sleeping with her? I think I calm her, but, I don't know, what was she like before?"

Jonathan nearly choked on his food. His coughing covering the fact he had actually just flushed red. He was surprised at how open about this Edward was being but he still had no desire to talk about it, let alone hear any details. Now that was a mental image he didn't need. He closed his eyes and recomposed himself.

"If she will let you be with her like that, when she is vulnerable, then she is certainly improving," he offered, trying to keep it ambiguous, hoping not to spark any further detail.

Edward frowned slightly, "Well it was my idea but I mean I didn't push it: I mean I know it helps me if I'm feeling bad so I thought it might help her too."

Jonathan blushed red and just put his head down to eat.

"Yes...well...just don't get…too attached to her," he stumbled over his words, "You should...take her breakfast, before it goes cold."

Edward frowned at Jon's tone, but nodded and began to walk from the room, "I don't know why you're acting so weird about it, I didn't think you'd mind that much."

Jonathan looked him in the eyes over his glasses.

"Look Edward, what you do with Lydia is up to you but she is still a test subject," he warned, the last thing he needed was Edward backing out of this. "You need to remain focused on the job."

"I am focused, Jon," Edward informed calmly, "But Lydia isn't simply a test subject, she's an intelligent young woman, she could have a life after this. I'm focused on this because I don't want her to live like this forever, I don't want her to suffer longer than she has to."

"Edward, I hate to break this to you but she is Luthor's property. After the experiments she is his to do with as he wishes," Jonathan told him with a frown.

"What?" Edward half-gasped, a pit forming in his stomach, "No he can't do that, she's a living being, s-she's got free will. He can't just take her." He thought of what that man had already done to her… what if she was subjected to more torture? He didn't want that. "She's an innocent." That wasn't a word he used often, but this time it were true, she knew nothing other than the torture she'd been subjected to, yet she still put a positive spin on everything, Edward couldn't fathom how.

Jonathan's mind worked fast, spotting the weakness in Edward.

"You know Edward, I could lie to Luthor and say she died in testing, but you would have to take care of her," he offered.

Edward felt his insides convulse with relief; he'd already thought of that as a possibility, but he'd never have thought that Jon would suggest it, "Oh god, Jon please, I'd be in your debt. I'll do anything."

"Yes you would," Jonathan smiled, now that was unexpected, Edward must _really_ like Lydia. Oh well, it worked to his advantage. "Now take her, her breakfast and I will make sure that everything works out."

Edward smiled thankfully and walked to the door, typing in the code and opening the door "Lydia can I come down?" he called politely, deciding to make asking a usual practice.

"Yes," Lydia called back up.

Maybe now that Jon had decided to help her out he would let her come upstairs? She wasn't going to run off or anything

"Hey Jon," he said questioningly, "Do you think Lydia will be allowed to come upstairs? Not now, at some point in future, if I'm going to keep her I want to be able to treat her like a proper human being."

Jonathan looked at Edward with an almost concerned look.

"Let's get the first round of testing done first Edward," he suggested

Edward nodded at Jon's response in thanks, he turned and descended the stairs. "I made you some pancakes, Lydia."

"What are pancakes?" Lydia asked, shortly followed by "If you made them then I am sure they are good."

She was washed and dressed in her one, very worn, summer dress.

"These are pancakes," Edward said, showing the plate of food, "They are really nice. I have some good news too," he informed with a smile.

Lydia took the plate and tried the pancakes. She smiled with glee.

"Oh these are wonderful Edward," she said as she ate more. "What is your news?"

Edward took a seat on Lydia's bed and began to eat his own food, "Jon has said that if the first round of testing goes well then you might be allowed upstairs… With proper supervision of course; I don't want you to get hurt."

Lydia looked a little concerned. he swallowed her mouthful and said; "Is it safe? I mean you said it was dangerous. You'll protect me, wont you Edward?"

"Yes of course," Edward confirmed, "I will do everything I can to make sure you don't get hurt." He ate some more of his pancake, and watched Lydia eat her own, "You should be happy, this is a good thing."

"Yes I am happy Edward. I'd like to be able to see the world you live in. To be able to understand everything," she smiled at him as she continued to eat.

Edward nodded proudly, "I'll help you understand as much as you can," he said happily, reaching to place a hand on her knee having finished his food. "And I'll take you clothes shopping eventually too," he mentioned, noticing how dirty and dull her dress was, "You'll enjoy that."

She smiled a little and blushed slightly as he put his hand on her knee.

"What is clothes shopping? I'm sure I'll enjoy it if you are taking me," she replied finishing her food.

"I mentioned it before," Edward reminded her, "Buying new dresses and things. I'm getting paid for being here, I can spend a bit of the money on you." Edward moved his hand to the girl's dress to feel the material, "I think you might need something new before then though, this dress is filthy. It needs a wash at least."

Lydia looked a bit ashamed as she looked down at the state of her dress.

"I've only ever had this dress. It's all I have," she said slightly defensively.

If Edward actually looked he would have noticed that she was only wearing this dress and nothing underneath it.

Edward frowned, "You've worn this since you became conscious?" he asked, sounding slightly concerned at what that might mean, only now noticing some of the odd coloured stains on the fabric.

"Yes." Lydia replied awkwardly. "There was a woman in white. She took me out of the tank and dried me and put this on me. It...it was white."

Edward felt himself physically tense in discomfort, that dress was _not_ white. He couldn't keep the disgust from his face, "I-I need to wash it," he said quietly, "I can't let you wear that, you'll get ill. I need to get you something else to wear."

"Ok Edward. Thank you. I'd like that," Lydia said having now finished her food. "Breakfast was good. Should I take this off now?" she asked a slight look of worry in her eyes.

Edward got to his feet, picking up the plates and forks, "Um, yes, could you," he said quickly, seeming a little shaky, "I'll put it in the wash and get you something else to wear, I'm sure there's something upstairs that'll fit you." Edward remembered that the wardrobe in his room upstairs was full, and he remembered Jon saying something about Ivy working on the project; maybe there was something of hers in there that Lydia could wear while the dress washed.

Lydia looked to Edward.

"I can't take it off with the cuff on my wrist," she said quietly.

Edward inspected the cuffs and saw that they could be detached from the chains. He did so, giving her the freedom to move.

Lydia stood up and pulled off her dress, naked underneath, and passed it to Edward. She looked awkward and held herself, covering up. There were the remains of bruises on her body, nearly healed now but still there. There were a few scars too, the sort caused by a knife and in one case, teeth.

Lydia sat back down, looking at the floor.

Edward frowned slightly and stared at her, "I-I'm, sorry, I didn't realise you weren't wearing anything else," he couldn't take his eyes from her, mainly through curiosity; he had thought even part-Kryptonians healed fast, or, wait, could they be hurt at all? She must have been under sedation via kryptonite the whole time, for her whole life probably. "Lydia," he asked softly, "Are you ok?"

"Yes. I just...I don't like to take my dress off. It's all I have. It covers the pain," she said sadly. She hadn't mentioned that she always felt sick too due to the kryptonite because she had never ever felt well to know the difference.

"You mean the scars?" Edward asked, placing the plates and dress on the floor, approaching her slowly, not wanting to scare her, knowing how vulnerable she must feel.

"Yes. They used special knives, it still hurts," she muttered. Lydia looked at him with large sad eyes. Her body was slender, almost unhealthy, undernourished, though her bust ample, she was pale too. She pressed her knees together as she looked at him, an automatic defence. She tried a weak smile, wanting to know she wasn't upset by him.

Edward exhaled sadly, "Lydia, the man who had you before Jon took you was very cruel. He wanted to make you be afraid, but he did it wrong." He swallowed hard, trying to hold back the pain in him, "They shouldn't have hurt you like this. If Jon had known what they were planning to do, he would never have let this happen. But you're with me now, and Jon, we'll never let anyone hurt you like this again."

Lydia's eyes were moist as she tried to smile at Edward.

"Thank you," she whispered as she reached out for his hand.

Edward smiled and clasped her hand with both of his, "Don't be upset, ok? You're beautiful and intelligent and no one can take that from you."

Lydia tried to smile holding back her tears.

"Thank you Edward," she said trying to cheer up, not wanting to concern him too much. "When you come back could you teach me more things. You are so clever and I do so want to learn more."


	7. Chapter 7

Edward nodded, getting to his feet and leaving the room. When she was allowed out of the basement, she'd be operating without the kryptonite and her bruises and scars would heal. That thought unnerved Edward, but the sight of the poor girl in that state was heart-breaking. Edward wasn't entirely sure why it had hurt him so much. She was an innocent, hurt just for being alive. That upset him.

He walked into the kitchen, not caring where Jon was, and put the dress in the washing machine, a long, hot wash, enough to get out all the horror it may have seen.

He sped upstairs and into his bedroom, the room still unused. He looked through the wardrobe and did manage to find what seemed to be a black cocktail dress, though why one was here was unknown to him. He wasn't sure if it would fit her, but it would have to do. He rummaged through the draws and found some knickers, and he descended the stairs again.

Jonathan watched from the lounge as Edward went past, then went back to reading his book. As he heard Edward come back down the stairs he looked up.

"What are you doing Edward?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Edward stopped suddenly, looking down at the clothes in his hands, "Uh, I'm getting Lydia some new clothes. She's been wearing that dress since she gained consciousness. It's disgusting," he said with a shake of his head, "Did you know this? She could get ill or something."

Jonathan pondered for a moment.

"I hadn't really noticed. Once you have finished working you could always go and buy her something new?" he suggested.

Edward nodded, "I plan to, until then she'll have to make do with this," he said with a gesture towards the dress he was holding. "It might be a bit short for her, but I don't want her walking around naked for much longer than she has to."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow but said nothing about her being naked. It was something he would rather not think about. She was a test-subject and that was all.

"Yes, I would prefer if she was dressed Edward," he muttered.

"Of course you would," Edward said gently as he opened the door to the basement and called down to Lydia, the change of tone instantaneous "Is it ok if I come down? I found a dress for you."

"Yes Edward. Thank you," she called up to him.

She stood up as he came downstairs, eager to see what the dress was like.

Edward blushed and smiled, trying to keep his eyes at a modest height. "Here you go," he said as he got to the bottom of the stairs, holding out the dress, "I brought you some knickers too…" he said as she took them, still smiling softly.

Lydia took the dress and looked at it.

"It's black," she marvelled as she felt it, "And soft." She put it over her head and slipped it on. It was a little big round the waist but fitted snugly round her chest, accentuating it. "Oh Edward, I love it," she squealed as she threw her arms around him hugging him tightly with appreciation. After a moment, she asked; "What are knickers?"

Edward hugged her back tightly, happy that she liked the clothes. "Knickers go, uh, around your waist. But first I'll have to remove your ankle chain," he gestured to the area as he slowly pulled out of the hug. He bent down and detached the chain from her ankle cuff.

Lydia took the knickers and looked at them. She stared at them for a moment and turned them over in her hand. She then looked at Edward's trousers and then back at the design of the knickers. She took another step back and then slowly and being careful with her footing, put them on.

"Is this right?" she asked now wearing them and holding her dress up for him to see.

Edward blushed and swallowed hard, trying not to chuckle at her still surprising naivety, "Yes, that's right, but I'm not supposed to see them. They'll help you, um, feel safe. They're not for people to see."

"Oh!" she said instantly pushing her skirt down and blushing. "Sorry Edward. They do feel...protective, though they might take some getting used to. I've never warn them before."

Edward nodded, "Well they're doing their job." He sighed as he realised what he had to do next, "I'm sorry but I have to reattach the chains."

"That's ok Edward, I understand," Lydia replied softly as he reconnected the chains to her right wrist and ankle cuffs.

He took a small step back and looked the woman up and down, "You do look incredibly lovely," he cooed gently.

Lydia blushed and looked down at herself.

"Really Edward? Do you really think I am lovely?" she asked sounding unsure, which was not surprising as all this was new. It was almost a shame her hair was such a mess.

"Of course," Edward said, as if it were obvious, "I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. You look gorgeous, really. I'll buy you more dresses like this if you'd like?"

"Oh thank you Edward. You really are very nice to me. You look good too. I like the colour you wear, it makes your eyes look nice," she said, complimenting him but lacking the language to know what to say properly.

Edward smiled and looked down at his own crinkled suit, realising only now that he hadn't changed before he went to bed. "Well thank you Lydia, I doubt I look as nice as you though. This suit needs washing honestly." He looked over the girl and smiled again, trying to smooth his suit out, "Perhaps I should buy you a dress that matches your eyes too?"

"Edward. I have a question. If I have two dresses or more, how do I know which one to wear. I mean how long do you wear something before you change it. And I don't think this dress would be as comfortable to sleep in," she asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Edward stood in front of her with his hands resting on his hips, "Usually you change your clothes every day, and then have a special set of clothes for sleeping, called Pyjamas. You choose what to wear based on your mood, or which one you like more."

Lydia looked thoughtful.

"There is so much I just don't know isn't there?" she said with a sigh, "I don't want to be stupid, I want to be smart. I want to learn everything but I feel like I know nothing." It was a very frustrating thing to suddenly be a person.

"That's ok," Edward smiled, "You're doing incredibly well, most humans who have been alive as long as you can't even talk yet," he smile widened at his own wit.

She smiled up at him. "Thank you Edward," she said as she reached for his hand, "Will you teach me some more things or do you have to work? I don't mind listening to the music with you whilst you work again."

Edward looked at his notebook that still lay on the bed, "I should work, but I can work and teach you at the same time. What sort of things would you like me to teach you?" he asked thoughtfully, simply hoping she wouldn't ask anything too inappropriate.

Lydia picked up his notebook and passed it to him.

"I liked when you were teaching me maths. Numbers are like another language. I like the interaction to create new things," she smiled.

Edward nodded gently, "That's good," he slid himself onto the bed and crossed his legs, opening the notebook to the correct page. "We'll continue from last night," he informed, "I'm glad you like Maths, Maths interests me."

He patted the bed gently to invite Lydia closer, scooting over slightly to give her room. Lydia slid up close to him, looking at the notebook. She waited for him to start as she listened intently. Edward pulled her close to him, hooking his arm around her and rubbing up against her, quickly finding their place and reading out the last line of numbers and symbols.

"I think that's where we were…" his eyes trailed the page, "Yeah, that's right. We need to use the base numbers from earlier to adjust this part of the formula," he pointed to the original formula, the one Jon had developed. "Crude…" he muttered as he reiterated.

Lydia enjoyed the feel of his arm around her and so snuggled in close. Though unknown to her the new dress with its low cleavage and close cut would give Edward quite the view if he looked down.

She looked inquisitively over the numbers. "I am sure you can fix it Edward, you are so smart."

Edward shifted slightly on the bed, staring intently at the page, "I have to be careful… this stuff is going _ in_ you. If I get it wrong it'll hurt you."

"Thank you for being careful," she smiled and then after a thought, "What will it do to me Edward?" she asked curiously.

Edward bit his lip, "Um," he shifted again, pressing closer into her as if it would soften the words, "It will make you see your bad dreams, without you being asleep." He smiled quickly as he thought of an upside: "But after that happens we're going to try to make it so you don't have bad dreams again."

Lydia looked conflicted as she looked down at the bed and then eventually up into his eyes.

"I know I need to suffer to make the world a better place but...but...I don't want nightmares when awake. I am sorry I am selfish Edward. I should be better but...but...it scares me," she said biting her lip.

"I know, I know," Edward said gently, the thought of what she faced hitting him like bricks. He could almost hear her screams, the thought made his stomach turn. "I'm sorry we have to do this to you. But it will be over soon ok? I promise." He moved and took her hand, "And then you can come with me and I'll teach you everything you want. You won't feel fear or pain again."

Lydia's eyes changed from sorrow to hopeful as he explained to her. She grinned at his promises, believing everything he said.

"Go with you? Oh Edward, I would like that very much!" she beamed as she threw her arms around him burying her head in his neck, pressing herself against him.

Edward let out a slight 'oof' at the force of her embrace, but he hugged back, rubbing her back and nuzzling her, blushing and humming a little as she pressed against him, "I'd be happy to take you," he informed, "You could work with me and help with my plans."

"Oh I would love that Edward. I would try to be ever so helpful with your work and plans. I want you to take me Edward," she said gleefully as she pulled back a little and looked up at him. "Sorry, I have interrupted your work again," she said, sounding sheepish and settling again.

Edward let out a small chuckle at her tone as she pulled away, "It's ok Lydia, I keep telling you." He pulled himself to her again, his eyes flicking between the girl and his notebook, "It helps if I have distractions, that's why I have the music on." He gave her a slight playful squeeze, "I prefer you to the music."

Lydia actually blushed as he stated his preference. She settled back, leaning against him and looking at the notepad. She looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke up quietly. "Shouldn't he have carried the three just there?" she said as she pointed to the page.

Edward looked down at the page, a smirk spreading over his face as he seemed to grow excited, "Yes, yes he should have." He placed an affectionate kiss on her forehead, "Very good spot Lydia, very smart of you," he smiled gleefully; watching her intellect grow before him, it was so exhilarating.

Lydia smiled with innocent pride, glad that she could help.

"I got it right? You must have taught me very well. Thank you Edward," she smiled rubbing his leg slightly.

"Yeah you got it right," Edward said with the same enthusiasm, "I'm very proud of you. You're learning so fast Lydia."

Lydia felt very good about herself, a huge smile on her face. She sat there, leaned against Edward and continued to watch as he worked at correcting Jon's formula. She was getting a lot better at reading his writing and she loved it as he educated her, pointing on the changes he made and why.

Eventually, despite his enjoyment, Edward noticed his work starting to slow. He wasn't sure how long they'd been working but by his judgement he needed a break, with a sigh and a slight stretch he hesitantly closed the notebook. "I think I need a break, love," he mumbled gently to the girl, "Half an hour or so."

Lydia looked up at him and pulled away slightly and then stretched.

"That's ok Edward. I don't mind. But can I look through the notebook, whilst you are gone?" She asked.

Edward felt his face flush with an odd sort of pride, "Of course," he said happily, "Tell you what," he took the notebook and took her to the last page, "If you see anything that you think is wrong, write it on this page, and if it's right then I'll write it in properly."

Edward loved this, getting to teach the girl, watching a child grow into an adult before his eyes. Every time she corrected something Edward had come to feel that pride, which seemed something close to pleasure. He wasn't sure why, but he loved it, he loved watching her transform like this.

Lydia looked up at him, taking the notebook and looking at it as if it was some mystical treasure.

"Thank you Edward. I'll try," she smiled.

Jonathan was upstairs, working on something in the lab.

"Doing anything interesting?" Edward asked when he saw the other man, his tone comparatively dry to that he used with Lydia. Again he didn't wait for an answer and he walked straight through to the kitchen. "I don't suppose you want some tea or something do you?"

Jonathan looked up. Tea wasn't a bad idea. He got up and wandered to the kitchen.

"Yes, quite interesting. Working on a nerve toxin. Tea would be appreciated," he said in his usual flat tone.

Edward nodded and put the kettle on, deciding to make some for Lydia too, unsure if she had had any before. "You know, Jon," Edward said slowly, his tone almost sly, "Lydia noticed a mistake in your notes. …She noticed one of the main reasons it wasn't working."

Jonathan's face went from cold distain to mildly annoyed as he leaned in the doorway.

"Really? Well, she'll have herself to blame when it works so well on her then, wont she?" He scathed.

Edward's mouth gave a small twitch of disdain, "Yes… I explained what would happen and she seems ok with it. I told her she could come with me afterwards and that made her feel a lot better."

Jonathan shook his head.

"I need to test the toxin in a variety of delivery systems Edward. It won't be only one test," he pointed out.

Edward nodded, "I know, I meant after testing… It shouldn't take too long, only a few months? Then Lydia can come with me."

"If and this is a big if, I can convince Luthor that she is not required or dead. Though I will try, especially as you promised that you would be in my debt and I quote 'I'll do anything you want'." Jonathan replied with a slight smile.

Edward felt himself blush deeply, a small smile breaking on his lips, "I suppose… I _hope_ you will try your hardest to convince Luthor." He poured the tea, letting out a gentle sigh, "That 'anything' sounds like it could be fun."

"I will. The promise of you doing anything I ask is quite a worthwhile prize. I have always wondered what it is that scares you Edward," Jonathan smirked as he looked thoughtfully at Edward.

Edward felt discomfort rise in him, but he made sure to keep his eyes fixed on the other man, his stance the same. "I'm aware; you mention it almost every time you see me." He leant back on the side, "I'm not that hard to guess though, Jon, I'm sure you already know really."

Jonathan gave a smile, the sort that was mildly unnerving.

"Well, obviously you have a fear of failure, of not being as smart as you think you are, of I am guessing some abusive authoritarian figure from your childhood. Your father. But I would be more interested in your OCD. Obsessive compulsions are bred from fear. I wonder what would happen if I restrained you from your compulsions, those little tasks that make you feel safe."

Edward felt his insides tighten as Jon spoke, he tried not to show his discomfort of his face but he was sure some still showed, he bit down on his lip, and gave a hard swallow as Jon stopped talking, "I bet you're going to do your best to find out." He finished making the tea, the simple action taking his mind away from the knot in him, "And the sooner Lydia's free the sooner you'll get to."

Jonathan smiled internally at Edward's discomfort.

"Indeed I will, for science of course," he smiled if you could call it a smile. The problem with trying to read Jonathan's expressions was that unless he was researching or better yet, experimenting on someone, he never really looked happy. And whenever he smiled, when it wasn't a pointed malicious grin or a sarcastic smirk, it was only a small turn up at the corner of his mouth. His eyes never straying far from being emotionless and cold.

"Yes, I promised to help with Lydia and I will, though you two may have to lie low for a while. Not to mention the problems the girl will have with sunlight," he pointed out, "She may be more than you can handle Edward when she isn't surrounded by darkness and kryptonite."

Edward hummed a little in thinking and looked at the floor, "I'm aware…" he exhaled sharply, "I'm sure she'll listen to me, sunlight or not. She likes me, a lot, I sure she won't want to upset me… if I tell her that how she's acting is upsetting me, if I tell her the dangers, then she won't do it." He smirked, taking a sip from his fresh tea, "She's listened to me so far, more than you."

Jonathan glared at Edward.

"You did offer to make me tea also Edward," he reminded him noticing he had only made enough for himself and Lydia. "And yes I am fully aware that she must indeed be rather...fond of you considering what you do together but I have no interest in her other than as a test subject. I would rather control her through kryptonite than pretty words and physical affection," he replied bluntly.

Edward looked down at Jon's empty cup, which he had got out but not filled, "Oh, uh," he swallowed and poured hot water into it, "Sorry." He cleared his throat as he returned to the conversation, "Once the kryptonite is gone she'll still listen to me, but probably not to you. I've not done anything special with Lydia, I've done what I'd do with anyone else in her situation, hell even you if you were locked up like that. We just get on, that's not my fault."

Jonathan swallowed hard finding his mouth suddenly dry and although he couldn't see it, his cheeks were slightly red.

"Yes, well...I ..um...hope to never get myself into such situations," he muttered, though his curiosity was peaked for he never viewed Edward as the sort to be tempted by a person in chains. "I don't recall you being...like that...when we were locked in Arkham together?" He said referring to the time when the place was being renovated and they had to share a cell.

Edward lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean? I've always been like that, how did you not notice? I've always been talkative. You called me 'over social' don't you remember?"

Jonathan recomposed himself, taking his tea and drinking some as a calming action.

"Overly talkative and annoying yes. With me the way you are with Lydia, no," he replied carefully.

Edward scuffed the floor with his foot slightly, "Well… yeah, but, you're not like that with _me_, and, I mean, I can't reciprocate what's not there. I'm close to Lydia because the _wants_ to be close to me. If you showed any interest in being close to me then I'd be the same back."

Jonathan stood up straight, taken aback by what Edward had said and turned on his heels to leave, though mainly because this time he knew his face was red. He could feel the heat spread across his face and chest, something he didn't need Edward to see. He had no idea that Edward felt that way towards him.

"I ...have work to do," he muttered, going to leave though not before adding hurriedly "And I ..wouldn't want to... get between you and Lydia."

Edward frowned sharply, "Uh, I told her I'd be gone half an hour. Jon what's got in to you?" Edward held back a smile; he wasn't sure what he'd said but Jon seemed almost _scared_.

Jonathan stopped in his tracks, sighed, letting his shoulders lower, well slightly as Jonathan was never truly relaxed, and turned back to Edward.

"Edward..." he started, unsure quite how to put this. "You are very...affectionate with Lydia. Affection is not something I am familiar with, it has never been given and it is not something I am equipped to express. So I suppose that the best way to put it is that even though I dislike or outright loathe 99% of people I come into contact with, and even though you are annoying and frustrating at the best of times, you are in the 1%."

Edward felt a large smile spread across his face, he straightened up slightly, "That's… An incredibly nice thing to say, Jon. Thank you. I'm _very_ glad you don't hate me." His smile slackened a little, softening, feeling almost warmed by Jon's cold words. That was as close as Jon could get to affection? Edward walked after Jon and leaned on the wall next to him, watching him, "Yeah," he said, swallowing down some more of his tea.

Jonathan sat down on one of the lab stools and opened his notepad. He didn't look at Edward as he spoke but simply said; "Well remember it as I don't plan on having to repeat myself."

"Hmm," Edward grunted, "Well I'm hoping you'll say more than that next time," he was careful to keep his tone soft. He didn't want to pretend he didn't _like_ Jon, he'd just always seemed cold, standoffish, a little scary. But what he'd just said was actually quite sweet. Edward knew how hard of a time Jon had showing any kind of emotion, so even this must be a big step for him.

"Next time?" he asked sarcastically, a 'never going to happen' smirk on his lips. "Why don't you go and entertain yourself with Lydia, I am sure she will fulfil your need for affection," he said with a wave of his hand, shooing Edward.

Edward nodded gently, knowing not to push kindness when it was offered. He moved back into the kitchen and took Lydia's cup, walking the long way round Jon's chair so he could give the man an almost unnoticeable rub of the shoulders before he pressed in the number for the door, and called down to Lydia, asking if it was ok if he could come in.

Jonathan shuddered slightly as Edward brushed him. So unused to any physical contact it was incredibly obvious despite the lightness and briefness of it. It caused his head to snap up and he turned to look to Edward as he saw him open the door to the basement.

"Oh yes Edward. You can come down. I think I have found another problem with the formula," she chirped.

"Oh," Edward cooed, shooting a playful smirk at the other man, "Another problem, eh…?" he chuckled lightly, "I'd better go and fix that." Still smiling, still looking back at Jon, he began to make his way down the stairs.

Jonathan huffed and went back to his work. The sooner they fixed the formula the sooner he could test it, he reminded himself, looking forward to that part at least.


	8. Chapter 8

**Important** - Due to FF removing stories without warning, specially if they contain sexual scenes, I am moving this story to another site called Archive of Our Own or AO3. My user name on AO3 is Chaos_alpaca. See you there.

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Edward walked happily over to Lydia, sitting down on her bed, "Here's you tea," he said, handing it to her, "What did you find?"

Lydia took the tea, looking a little surprised at it. She dipped a finger in it.

"It's warm?" She muttered before taking a sip. "But nice. I like this Edward. It's good," she smiled before drinking more, careful to savour it.

She then took out the notepad and showed him what she had written. Her writing was childlike and awkward but he could make it out.

"This bit didn't go with this bit which I know is what Jon wanted it to go with but it actually will go with that bit instead as they share the same symbol and number and that will make those two bits stick together," she explained.

Edward nodded along as Lydia explained, his smile widening as she did. "Yes that's right, very good girl, I'm very proud." He chuckled slightly, amazed by how fast she was learning, wondering if that speed would increase when she was exposed to sunlight, he was unsure why, the mere thought made his heart race. He cleared his throat, "You'll make Jon quite jealous at this rate."

"Jealous? Is that a bad thing?" she asked sounding concerned.

Edward shook his head, "No… well, sometimes. Not with Jon. It means he cares. It depends on your situation though." Edward stretched himself out on the bed looking over the notes and waiting for Lydia to snuggle up to him as she had done before, "You're doing very well In my view Lydia, I can't wait till you're allowed out and I can teach you properly."

Lydia crawled over to Edward and nuzzled herself against him.

"I would like that very much Edward. When we leave here, what will you teach me about first?" she asked, curious to know as she began mentally building the life he had promised her.

Edward let out a gently exhale and pulled her closer, wrapping his leg around hers and hooking his arm around her shoulders. "Ooh… I dunno," he said thoughtfully, "Well, you'll have to take a few days to get used to the outside. But after that, once I'm able to take you out properly. I think I'll take you to the museums; history, science and art, all the best bits. And shopping, I need to take you clothes shopping first, then museums."

"What is a museum?" she asked as she dared to put an arm across him, resting her hand on his chest.

Usually Lydia would keep her arms as a barrier between herself and Edward, not that she didn't like him but that she felt awkward about where to put them. However, he had been so very nice to her and this was so very comfortable. Though his leg against hers was making her feel...she couldn't find the word for it...but it was odd and she hadn't decided if she liked that yet or not. She wriggled slightly to try and get more comfortable but that only made it worse.

Edward gently grabbed her leg and pulled it upwards, moving Lydia onto her side slightly, making it more comfortable for both himself and her, "A museum is a place that they keep knowledge in. All the examples and how they were originally done." He exhaled gently, "A lot of them are being shut down now though, it's awful. I'll take you to the best ones, you'll love them."

Lydia felt herself go hot as Edward grabbed her leg, her heartbeat quickened too and she let out a quick breath. This was new, though not unpleasant. Lydia decided that she liked the sensation though she wasn't entirely sure what it was. But then, if Edward was causing it, then it must be fine.

"I would love to see that Edward. A house for knowledge sounds just about perfect, then I could learn more," she sighed with contentment as she lay against him.

Edward nodded and smiled gently, "It is lovely, I can't wait to take you," he chuckled lightly, "I can't wait to see your take on impressionist artists."

Jonathan had just gotten up to make another coffee, the nicer stuff this time, when he realised his cafetiere was missing. He must have left it downstairs when he brought coffee for Edward the previous night. Shaking his head at his own mistake he went to the basement door and punched in the code. Quietly, because he always walked with as little noise as possible, a habit acquired from a childhood of being bullied, he descended the stairs.

Edward looked up as he heard the door to the basement squeak open, seeing Jon already half way down the stairs, he smiled slightly up at Jon and offered him a gentle "Hi, Jon."

Jonathan looked at the two of them, entwined on the bed. How on earth were they so...comfortable together after only a few days? And Edward was just so casual about it as well. Jonathan knew that Edward was quite liberal, rumours of him frequenting Pandora's Box in town were known to him, though he largely ignored them. But this? With a test-subject!? Though he supposed Edward didn't see her that way. But still, she wasn't even a person. Or maybe that was why he liked her? Something he could use, could mould to whatever perverse shape he liked. Though he had never pegged Edward as quite so manipulative. No, it must be the attention. That was it. Edward could shape her into his perfect pet full of adoration and...affection.

Jonathan shook the images from his head as he finished descending the stairs.

"Edward," he nodded. "Having fun I see? Well don't let me interrupt, I just came to retrieve my cafetiere."

"We were Just talking about going to a museum," Edward said with a smile, "Is the one on fifth still going or has that closed too? That one's my favourite. I know the old lady who used to run it. You'd love it Lydia." He sighed a little and shifted closer to her, he looked up at Jon, "Um, yes, your coffee thing, it's over there," he pointed to the corner he'd left it in, where it sat, filled with stewed coffee.

"Yes, the one on fifth recently got new funding from Wayne enterprises. I believe they are even planning a new exhibit or some such," Jonathan replied as he went to fetch his cafetiere.

He picked up the coffee pot and frowned at its contents. He looked at the pair and sighed. It must be nice to be just so comfortable. But he chased that thought from his brain as soon as it arrived, knowing that was not for him. There was no comfort in life, or at least none that didn't come from the unravelling the human mind and releasing the monsters that lurked there. His expression turned cold as he banished all feeling from his soul.

"Well I shall leave you too it. Don't forget to actually work at some point Edward," he snapped.

"You know you could come and help, Jon," Edward half-sung, holding up the open book, "You don't have to sit with us. You can see how smart Lydia's getting."

_If only it was that easy,_ Jonathan thought. Anger and frustration rose in him. He didn't want her smart, he wanted her screaming, and not in the way Edward was probably accustomed to by now. He turned round to face them both.

"I am sure she is becoming very intelligent Edward but it is not a requirement and it does not interest me as I have found that intelligence makes very little difference when under the influence of fear toxin, which is what she is here for Edward. To be experimented on, not to play house," he said through gritted teeth.

Lydia looked scared at this point, concerned by what had been said and buried her head in Edward's side.

"Jon calm down," Edward said flatly, frowning slightly, "Lydia has actually been quite a big help. She spotted a mistake that _we_ made. I am thankful for her help." He tightened his arm around the girl, pulling her closer to his frame, "You don't have to help if you don't want to, but she's sped this up by at least half a day, don't _pretend_ she not useful as more than a test subject."

Jonathan glared at him, his left eye twitching slightly before he stalked back upstairs, slamming the door behind him.

Lydia jumped at the door slam and looked tentatively up to Edward.

"Is he ok?" she asked, worry darkening her pretty blue eyes.

"I don't know," Edward said thoughtfully as he looked up the stairs, "He's been acting a little odd today, I might go and ask." He pulled himself from her grip, pulling her hand to his lips and giving her knuckles a soft kiss, "If you could continue, I'll be back soon." He left the bed and walked up the stairs, glancing back at Lydia as he reached the top to make sure she was alright, he opened the door and peered round scouting the living room for Jon. He wasn't in there so he called his name, hoping for a response.

As Edward left Lydia looked at her knuckles, still able to feel his lips against them. She wasn't sure why he had done that, but like everything he did, it did leave her warm and contented. She sighed and looked at the notebook. She hoped that Jon was alright. She didn't know him very well, and he was scary but Edward seemed to like him and so she would hope for his happiness. She also felt a strange yearning. She was more than just a test subject, Edward had said so. He had said she was smart and that he was proud of her. She wanted to prove that to Jon, that she was more than just a test subject. She didn't know how, but she would find a way.

"What is it Edward? I'm upstairs," Jonathan shouted down to him, though still not in sight.

Edward climbed the stairs two at a time, finding him in his room, sitting on his bed, "_You _just walked away from an argument that you hadn't won. You _wanted_ to continue but you walked away, why? What's up with you today?"

Jonathan glared at him over his glasses.

"There is nothing _up _with me today. I simply have a very different opinion to you about what a test subject should be used for. And although I am glad that she has proven useful and hastened your work it still irks me to find you both so..." Jonathan stopped, realising he had perhaps said too much.

Edward smiled, "What, you're annoyed that I'm becoming close to her?" he walked further into the room, "I can't help liking her, she's so… curious. She's like _you_ but not as hard. I think you'd get on with her if you thought of her more as a _friend_ than a rat in a cage."

Jonathan looked decidedly unimpressed. He stood up, his arms folded.

"I do not have friends Edward. Friends are an unnecessary burden. I have people I tolerate and can work with and those that I cannot. I do not care that you are close to her Edward, I just find your affection for each other...uncomfortable. I mean, what if she dies and we need a new test subject? I am only trying to save you from yourself."

Edward narrowed his eyes, "Jon she's not going to die. The original formula did _nothing_ to her, it can't fucking kill her unless you _liquefy_ kryptonite." He huffed gently, "Look, fine, you don't have to like her, but stop treating her like she's nothing. She's not just a test subject she's practically a colleague now. She's _going_ to have a life after this that's why I'm being nice to her, she's going to be on our side."

"Fine. Though you can continue to take care of her. But I have one question for you Edward. How long do you think a clone lives for? What if she has an expiry date? Luthor gave me three months to turn this round. What if she is only programmed to live that long? Did you think of that?" Jonathan snapped.

Edward frowned, stilling, "No," he said quietly, "I didn't think of that," he looked up at Jon, "You don't think he'd do that, do you? He'd want her after for… something else. You said he wanted her back, that _must _mean he wanted her for something else." He suddenly found himself needing to sit, he'd not thought of that, the thought hadn't even entered his mind. He stepped to the bed to sit down, the opposite end to Jon, he turned his head to the man, swallowing hard, "If he has then I want her to live well until then."

Jonathan sighed. He could see that Edward was in pain, real pain. He looked the younger man in the eyes, wondering if he himself had ever been full of such hope and naivety? If he had then it was a life time ago.

"Luthor said that if this worked then I could keep the house and lab, in case he ever had need of me again and that I wouldn't have to worry about the test subject, Lydia, because that would be dealt with," he said quietly to Edward, "Read into that what you will."

Edward exhaled suddenly, seeming to fold in half and he put his head in his hands, "Shit…" he gasped. "Three months? How long ago was that?"

Jonathan thought for a moment.

"About three weeks ago. Though if you will excuse me, I would rather the bath I am running didn't over flow," Jonathan explained as he stood up and went to the room's ensuit bathroom.

Edward nodded, he got to his feet, following Jon like a lost puppy as his thoughts whizzed past him, "Well that's good that means we still have two months and a week. We can have everything done by then and I can at least take her to one of the museums."

Jonathan nodded as he reached down and turned the hot tap off, running the cold one instead. He didn't usually take baths, it being an unrequired luxury but every so often, should the opportunity arise, it was something he could actually take time to enjoy. Plus showers always reminded him of Arkham and things he would rather forget. He wandered back into his room to fetch his current book, for what was a bath for if not reading in and placed it near the tub. He stopped the cold tap, tested the water and turned to Edward, who had sat himself on the closed toilet lid and looked deep in thought.

"Look Edward. I don't want to become attached to someone who might be that short lived. I am happy to assist you in making sure the experiments go well and that Luthor does not get his hands on her and even in getting her to a museum but she is your responsibility. Now if you don't mind, I mean to take a bath."

Edward hummed in agreement, but took a moment to get to his feet, "I'm sorry, Jon. Thank you for being so helpful, I know it's not exactly… your normal thing." Edward smiled gently at the other man, thinking to himself that if this was what it was like to be in Jon's '1%' then he was glad to be.

Jonathan nodded in return and as soon as Edward had left the bathroom he locked the door and heaved a sigh of relief. Poor Edward, so easily manipulated by his concern for Lydia. Oh well at least it might come in useful at some point.

Edward quickly sped down the stairs, not knocking on the door as he went into the basement, he stilled as he came to Lydia's bed, and he smiled sadly as she looked up from her book, "Found anything yet, Lydia?" he asked gently, trying not to let his emotions take his voice.

Lydia greeted him with a smile.

"Not yet Edward. I'm sorry. But, I was wondering if you could help me with something? The cuff on my ankle has been bleeding again, and is awfully sore," she said raising her foot slightly, causing the long chain to jangle.

"Bleeding?" Edward said with a frown, "Well it's not supposed to do that at all…" He walked to her and took her foot, inspecting the metal wrapped around it, "Jon… you…" He looked up at Lydia, "I've got to take this off. These are _crude_, these must hurt like hell." With a click he unlocked them, the lock was flimsy he was sure Lydia could break out of them if she wanted, they looked as if they were made simply as a reminder to her that she shouldn't leave, rather than a means to prevent her from doing so. "What about the one on your wrist?" he asked, nodding to it, "Does that one hurt to? I might have to take it off."

Lydia nodded as he removed the one from her ankle wincing with pain. There were sore red welts on her skin, the inside of the cuff itself had a faint green hue to it. She held out her wrist to him.

"Yes, it hurts very much. But I know they are for my own good, so I didn't want to say anything but I don't like it when I bleed, it hurts. But also on the inside too," Lydia tried to explain as she looked sadly at Edward.

"Oh dear…" Edward said, chewing his lip, he took her wrist and uncuffed it, "Lydia, you should have said, bleeding is not _good_. I'll have to get some disinfectant to put on these, and some bandages too." He threw the cuffs to the floor and got back to his feet, almost sprinting up the stairs and into the kitchen, retrieving the medical kit from a cupboard and returning as quickly as he could.

"Here we are," he said with a smile as he returned to Lydia's bed, pulling out the pot of orange spray and shaking it, "Give me your wrist and you ankle. This is going to hurt for a little bit, then I'll put the bandage on and it won't hurt anymore, ok?"

Lydia held out her wrist and her ankle and winced slightly as he sprayed them and cleaned them for her. Whilst he was doing this she looked thoughtful for a moment and then said; "Is Jon ok?"

Edward nodded, beginning to wrap the wounded appendages in bandage, "He's… He's fine, just Jon being Jon."


End file.
